Fully accepting the autonomy of our clients is an essential element of the spirit of Motivational Interviewing. The client is the boss of herself and her family. The ultimate choices are hers. It is not your job to force…

In this element of the MI spirit, the clinician strives to understand the client’s point of view as accurately as possible before asking the client to consider change or offering anything.

In this aspect of the Motivational Interviewing spirit, the clinician conveys a belief in the inherent worth of the person. This one can be a challenge, especially if you work with clients from a large variety of backgrounds. It is…

The first element of the Motivational Interviewing spirit is partnership. The session feels like a collaboration from beginning to end. You and the client are a team working together to address the client’s problems. There is power sharing rather than…

  One of the aspects of Motivational Interviewing that makes it so powerful is the spirit. MI is not just the techniques such as open questions and reflecting. The spirit, or feel of it, is just as essential. Listening to…

First find out how the client uses technology. It can be tempting to suggest the latest app or a technology that works well for you. Instead offer to use it in ways that fit for this person and support her…

Affirming is one of the fundamental Motivational Interviewing skills. It supports engagement, encourages the client to further explore the change process and builds confidence. To form an affirmation, find an effort the client is making or a strength you notice…

As nutrition professionals we are trained to assess our clients’ nutritional status and determine the best treatment for the nutrition problems we find. This means focusing on what’s wrong. We understandably use our corrective lens. This is appropriate and useful…

Making profound change is not easy. We know that obstacles to making healthy changes will arise. It is natural for us to focus on these obstacles. We want to help our clients and see ourselves as problem-solvers, so we look…