I recently heard Stephen Rollnick, co-author of Motivational Interviewing, ask this question: “What does a skilled guide do and what types of questions do they ask?” A good question might look like: “Where do you want to go today?” (finding focus in a conversation) “What is the destination where you would like to end up?” […]
Have you ever wondered what the spark is that shifts our clients towards change after a visit? Is it the professional’s training, level of education or years of experience? It turns out that education, experience and training have zero effect on outcomes! Miller and Moyers book is set to come out soon: “Effective Therapists: Clinical […]
Our world is rapidly changing, and people are feeling vulnerable, scarred and wondering about the future. What is the most good we can do in the little time that we have with clients, especially with the new social distancing? What happens between us and our clients will be something that will carry on for that […]
How do you get to the why of someone’s motivation for change? WHY is a tricky word since asking why can be shaming depending on how you frame it. Rather than asking why do you do that (addiction, behavior challenges, etc.) try asking when things are working what helps or what makes this change important […]
You are sitting across from a client who looks depressed, doesn’t have much energy and is not sure if their life is worth participating in. Sound familiar? Are they motivated or not? How do you unpack whatever motivation is there? If someone is alive and breathing in front of you there is some level of optimism […]