During residency, I was exposed to the communication style known as Motivational Interviewing. Prior to this, I hadn't realized that there are ways of talking with people that can help them get unstuck. This was a huge realization for me.

 

After this course, I fully nerded-out on MI for many years and had the privilege of teaching the MI content to the residents during their didactic modules in a nice full-circle manner before I left Baltimore.

 

I want to share with you the gift of MI, while also helping you to avoid some of the ways that I've misunderstood, misinterpreted, and all-out fucked up when trying to implement MI in the clinic.

 

In this two-part episode, we'll talk through the philosophical background of motivational interviewing and behavior change, the mindset behind MI, the 4 core skills of MI, and the 4 MI processes. Along the way, I provide exercises to help you integrate and implement this information into the clinic (see below for a full list).

 

You can find the episode in blog form at www.AndrewHammondPT.com/post/motivational-interviewing

You can find the intention-setting infographic at www.AndrewHammondPT.com/post/clinical-reasoning

 

If you enjoy this episode, share the love! When you share this episode with your friends, throw me a tag so we can connect! I'm ALWAYS looking for fellow PTs to nerd out with. You can connect with me via:

My Website: www.AndrewHammondPT.com

Instagram: www.Instagram.com/AndrewHammondPT

Twitter: www.Twitter.com/AndrewHammondPT

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/AndrewHammondPT

 

If you're interested in bringing your practice to the level that you know it can reach, check out my Physical Therapy Mentorship program at www.AndrewHammondPT.com/PT-Mentoring

 

EXERCISES:

 

Exercise 1: The Spirit of MI

​​Think of someone right now who you find difficult to work with. Someone who you get a pit in your stomach when you see them on your schedule (we all have people like this). 

Now ask yourself:

"How is my partnership with this person? Am I collaborating with this person as an equal?"

"How is my acceptance of this person? Am I honoring and respecting their freedom to make their own decisions?"

"How compassionate am I with this person? Am I giving priority to their needs during our time together?"

& finally, "Do I believe that this person has within them already what they need to succeed?"

 

Exercise 2: Open-Ended Questions

Start to pay attention to how many open-ended vs. closed-ended questions you ask.

Notice the difference in the other person's response when you ask an open vs. a closed-ended question.

 

Exercise 3: Affirmations

Give each patient you work with the next time you're in clinic one affirmation.

Make sure it's genuine and starts with "You," not "I."

Notice how the person responds.