Motivational Interviewing with Michelle Taylor

Do you work with people who could benefit from changing their behaviour and wonder why change is so hard? Do you ever feel frustrated when people do not do what seems best for themselves? Would you like to learn an efficient, evidenced based approach to help clients move forward and reach their own specific goals? Book a seat today to add this valuable counselling approach to your toolbox.

One of the greatest challenges for professionals can be assisting individuals, families, and staff to partake of and engage in interventions and services. Motivational Interviewing (MI) offers professionals a powerful, user-friendly and evidenced-based approach that is responsive to the practical realities of working with young people and adults to address the common problems of resistance and ambivalence to change. It is a strengths-based and recovery-oriented approach that promotes a person’s expertise in recognising that they are the best judges of their lives and goals. It strengthens a person’s motivation for and movement toward a specific goal by; harnessing a sense of hope, respecting personal values and preferences, and exploring future possibilities to identify reasons and possible solutions for change in an atmosphere of acceptance and compassion.

With an emphasis on “what works”, MI focuses on the reality that change is the name of the game. It’s used with clients with anxiety, depression, addictions, disruptive behaviours and a host of other emotional and well-being issues. Based on a collaborative conversation style for strengthening a person’s own motivation and commitment to change, its strong evidence base of over 200 randomized controlled trials internationally has seen its demonstrated effectiveness across a range of areas including mental health, addictions, correctional services, schools, and public health programs.

This practical workshop explains the basic elements of MI theory and demonstrates, step-by-step, how the four-stage process of engaging, focusing, evoking, and planning can be used with individuals across a range of ages and with a range of issues. The workshop explores change talk and sustain talk, and how to approach each of these effectively.

You will learn:

• What is Motivational Interviewing: theory, principles and evidence.
• How Motivational Interviewing fits into health, addiction, education and counselling settings.
• The core skills of Motivational Interviewing.
• The four processes of MI—engaging, focusing, evoking, and planning.
• How to help clients who feel ‘stuck’, or afraid of change, lacking in confidence or hope, or the very common problem of not wanting to change.
• How to have an alternative conversation with clients so that agreed recovery goals are more likely to be enabled, rather than other’s agendas for change or the person’s past unsuccessful attempts.
• How to integrate Motivational Interviewing into your current practice/organisation.
• When and how to use a range of techniques and tools.

Michelle Taylor is an Occupational Therapist with over 20 years experience supporting people of all ages with mental health and addiction issues, in private and public health settings in Australia and the United Kingdom, in diverse positions from therapist to clinical educator, consultant and manager. As a Senior Occupational Therapist and Dual Diagnosis Co­ordinator she offers consultation, training and supervision in private practice. Michelle’s Masters of Arts Research examined the role of children’s stories in managing childhood fears and promoting empowerment. She is the author of seven books including young adult fiction and children’s poetry.