When working with clients dealing with addiction and other related issues, there has to be a planned and formulated way of providing the healing they need.
Motivational interviewing is a method whereby clients are put through a process of discovering where they are, how they are feeling, and how they can get into the right mindset to improve. Through a series of interviews, they’ll understand more about themselves and what steps are necessary.
This technique was developed by Dr. William R Miller and was first brought into the public eye in a 1983 issue of Behavioral Psychotherapy. It’s known as an interpersonal process that provides motivation for clients in order to encourage and inspire me to find solutions.
At Findley Recovery Center, motivational interviewing is an established technique that is brought in for clients dealing with addiction. There are four principles of motivational interview:
- Engaging
- Focusing
- Evoking
- Planning
The first point is in regard to the initial stages. It’s all about establishing trust and creating a relationship. The preliminary stages of the chat will be to really encourage the client to get involved with what is trying to be achieved.
The focus section is all about realizing what the main idea of the client’s recovery actually is. It’s very easy to want to improve, but it’s very difficult without a particular goal or idea to focus on. This is where the focus will be determined.
Evoking is in regard to the client’s ideas and arguments. Bringing out a few thoughts of their own will help out as it’s not all about listening. Finally, planning lets the client envision a change and see a real future. They’ll be able to see a route and a firm idea of how to reach their goal(s).
Engaging
The first step is ensuring that the relationship is built with the client. Before you can do anything of great significance, the bond needs to be there. If there isn’t any trust, the client will not feel comfortable enough to even think about the changes that will be made.
They also won’t be able to express themselves when it comes to the more advanced parts of the treatment. Engaging properly with the client will boost the respect levels on both sides and allow an alliance to be formed. Counselors are typically going to be empathetic in making it clear that this is a joint effort and not a pressurized set of tasks.
This will help in terms of keeping the patient’s sense of control and ownership over the recovery and the journey as a whole.
Focusing
Not every client or patient knows what direction they should be heading in or what goals to really zero in on when looking to improve. Someone in need of alcohol addiction treatment, for instance, may not have the faintest idea of what it takes to heal and become sober.
This phase is mainly about finding out what’s important to them and letting them understand exactly what they want/need to get out of the treatment. With this initial info, the counselor will then set up a plan and understand the tone of how things will go.
Evoking
This part of the proceedings is tuned towards the client and what they are thinking. You’re wanting to not only evoke certain emotions towards ideas but also their opinions.
The idea is to dig deep and find out what they really want from this process and journey as a whole. During this process, the client’s confidence and sense of importance both rise. They become able to feel as though they’re going to win the battle instead of falling back into old habits.
Planning
The planning stage isn’t just about creating a structure for how things are going to be. It’s also about letting the client learn about the future so that they may catch themselves before they fall.
If they have developed skills and knowledge along the way, they’ll be able to use their knowledge or coping mechanisms to stop any damage from being done. The professional will use their skills to help guide the client through everything.
How Findlay Recovery Center Can Help
Findlay Recover Center has the perfect professionals at the helm regarding addiction treatment. Going through the motivational interviewing stages will be productive and helpful for any patient and client that heads through the door.
Heading over to their site and getting in contact with Findlay Recovery Center could allow you to answer any queries you might have about this particular subject.
