The Modern Therapist's Survival Guide with Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy

Why You Should Stop Trying to Convince Clients to Change

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Why You Should Stop Trying to Convince Clients to Change

An interview with Hillary Bolter, LCSW, on Motivational Interviewing. Curt and Katie chat with Hillary about what MI really is, what therapists often get wrong when supporting clients in making changes, and the importance of how therapists show up for this evidence-based model.  

It’s time to reimagine therapy and what it means to be a therapist. To support you as a whole person and a therapist, your hosts, Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy talk about how to approach the role of therapist in the modern age.

Interview with Hillary Bolter, MSW, LCSW, LCAS

Hillary is one of those folks that inherently thinks they have great ideas and solutions for people upon first encounter (Enneagram 1!). She’s ready to jump in and FIX! When she began her MI learning process, she realized just how essential MI was going to be for her energy, effectiveness, and longevity in the helping profession!

She has been a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT) since 2011. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker & Addiction Therapist and absolutely delights in helping individuals, groups, and organizations learn the essential skills of Motivational Interviewing. She has worked as a helping professional for 20 years, ranging from working in wilderness therapy to community mental health, providing in home & school-based services, as a therapist with specialties including working with anxiety, trauma, addiction, and veterans.

In this episode we talk about:

  • Motivational Interviewing (MI) is simple but not easy
  • The righting reflex – the tendency for therapists to try to persuade toward change
  • The differences between MI and the stages of change
  • What does “using MI” really mean?
  • The spirit of MI – the attitude we bring to our clients – empathy, collaboration, evocation, acceptance and compassion
  • OARS skills: open-ended questions, affirmations, reflections, and summaries
  • Change talk – the more people talk about change, the more likely they are to change
  • Focusing on why people would like to change
  • When we focus on why TO change, clients may argue against change (voicing the ambivalence)
  • How therapists may want to navigate changes that feel urgent (unsafe behaviors, for example)
  • Three styles of communication: following, guiding, directing
  • The ways to move from directing or educating back into a more collaborative stance
  • Why MI isn’t more widely used
  • The ways that MI skills could intermingle with other theoretical orientation
  • The idea around walking with your clients
  • Looking at the myth that motivational interviewing is manipulative
  • How to assess whether the change is in the client’s best interest
  • The focusing process as a way to ensure client participation
  • Motivational Interviewing is a communication technique
  • Distinguishing between the motivations that drive the change – focusing on the best interest of the client is the only one that really is MI
  • The importance of experiential training for MI

    • Resources mentioned:

    We’ve pulled together resources mentioned in this episode and put together some handy-dandy links. Please note that some of the links below may be affiliate links, so if you purchase after clicking below, we may get a little bit of cash in our pockets. We thank you in advance!

    Hillary’s website: bolterconsulting.com

    • Special offer: use “MTSG” for 10% off a foundations of MI course

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hillarybolter/

    Hillary's Facebook Group

    Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT)

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    The Modern Therapist's Survival Guide with Curt Widhalm and Katie VernoyBy Curt Widhalm, LMFT and Katie Vernoy, LMFT
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