The post is developed in partnership with BetterHelp.
As a kid, being told to clean our rooms could result in putting up resistance to being told what to do. Even if we wanted to clean our room before our parents told us to do it, we might keep it dirty just to feel like we're in control. As adults, it's natural and human to not always embrace being told to do something. Even when it's something we know is in our best interest, like getting our mental health back on track.Â
Motivational interviewing (MI) seeks to help a person receiving treatment resolve any ambivalent feelings they may have about proceeding with therapy, which is intended to help them more fully dedicate themselves to the process. To learn more about how motivational interviewing can change your life, check out this insightful BetterHelp guide:
In this article, we'll explore more about how motivational interviewing can be used to help guide a person toward initiating change and engaging in the therapeutic process more fully.
Key Foundations Of Motivational Interviewing
Motivational interviewing takes the position that the counselor's role is to enhance a person's motivation to want to change, not to impose their will on them. For a client to feel ambivalent about change is considered normal, as is any resistance to change they may show. In motivational interviewing, being resistant to change is not considered a character fault of the person being treated.
How Is Motivational Therapy Used?
It's worth noting that motivational interviewing isn't considered as effective on its own as it is when it's used together with another therapeutic modality. In studies, motivational interviewing has been shown to be an effective adjunct to other therapies, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
Let's take a look now at some of the core principles in motivational therapy:
Motivational Therapy Principle #1 "“ Embrace Collaboration In Treatment
In some therapy modalities, the therapist leading the treatment is confrontational in the way they urge their client to face certain realities. This may involve the therapist taking the lead as the expert in the interaction, which makes the person being treated "the follower."
In MI, the therapist works collaboratively with the person being treated to build rapport with them. In this exchange, the therapist is primarily interested in creating an environment of mutual understanding. Not a process that involves making one person right (the therapist) and the other person wrong (the person being treated).
Motivational Therapy Principle #2 "“ Draw Out The Individual's Thoughts
The principle here is about allowing the individual receiving treatment to set the agenda. The therapist is working to draw out the person's thoughts and feelings without prescribing a certain way that change must take place based on the therapist's own preferences.
While the therapist may, in fact, know more about what steps the person needs to take to regain their health, the person being treated may put up resistance. Even when it's in a person's best interest to follow a course of treatment, they may still have to be convinced to proceed with treatment. In motivational interviewing, it's believed that the best person to convince someone they need therapy is themself.
By helping a person draw out their own feelings about a situation, they are able to come to their own conclusion. A person can decide their own reasons and motivations for wanting to change. Motivational interviewing holds that those patients who do come to their own conclusions are more likely to experience lasting change, instead of feeling forced into the process.
Motivational Therapy Principle #3 "“ Respect The Need For Autonomy
Humans have a basic psychological need for autonomy and being able to direct their own life.
In self-determination theory, autonomy is seen as one of the three needs that support all human development and growth, along with competence and relatedness.
Respecting the individual's need for autonomy runs counter to some therapeutic methods that involve the therapist taking a more authoritative approach. Think of the classic scene of a patient receiving psychoanalysis lying on a couch while the therapist sits upright. Motivational interviewing respects the power of this human drive, and the therapist is not meant to override the individual's sense of autonomy in the way they direct their life.
In Conclusion
Motivational interviewing offers an approach that respects the autonomy of the individual and their power to choose. In studies, motivational interviewing has been shown to be an effective adjunct therapy to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which aids people in committing to making the changes they need to improve their lives.