Motivational Interviewing Practice Analysis

This assignment involves analyzing a dialogue between a therapist (DR) and a counselor (Rick) discussing motivational interviewing techniques. Students are tasked with identifying specific motivational interviewing strategies used by Rick, such as reflections and open-ended questions, and evaluating their effectiveness in guiding the client towards positive change.

Running head: COLLABORATING FOR SOCIAL CHANGE
Collaborating for Social Change
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s note

1COLLABORATING FOR SOCIAL CHANGE
Statement Commentary
DR: It upsets you that I might be suggesting
something that could hurt your clients.
You really care about them.
Resists the righting reflex and attempts
to communicate understanding of the
practitioner’s motivation through a
reflection.{EXAMPLE}
Rick: Damn right. If I let them scam me,
then they aren’t going to recover.
Rick responds positively and reasserts
his goal.{EXAMPLE}
DR: They don’t benefit from your being
naive.
Has an understanding perspective but is
juxtaposing the view point of Rick and is
encouraging him to be mature
Rick: Right. They’ll just take advantage of
you.
Sounds pessimistic and in a undermining tone
DR: And so sometimes it feels like you
really need to get in their face, so
they know that you aren’t being
fooled.
DR tries to encourage Rick and help him develop
confidence
Rick: Yeah. I guess. I mean, that’s what I
know works. They pay me to do a job
and that’s what I’m doing.
Reassuring his confidence with a back up of logic
but in a tone that is contemplating the discussion
DR: As best as you know how . . Still persisting to support Rick but is interrupted
by an interrupted of idea
Rick: . . . with what I know works. The tone in this message is much reassuring than
when the conversation first began (Rohsenow et

2COLLABORATING FOR SOCIAL CHANGE
Statement Commentary
al. 2014).
DR: Because you’ve seen it. Sometimes it
works really well
DR is trying to boost the decision of Rick by
motivating self- effacy
Rick: Yeah.
Reassuring that he is in the same page with DR
and is having an moment of inducing intrinsic
motivation
DR: . . . but not always . . . Again, this is taking a risk to build
motivation by noting a discrepancy,
though statements prior to this exchange indicate
that this is accurate.{EXAMPLE}
Rick: No. Not always . . . it’s a tough disease. There is a sense of understanding in between the
two people in this conversation. This is the
situation of rolling with resistance where the
person is avoiding argument, but is still trying to
take the conversation ahead.
DR: And that’s what worries you. You
might consider something different,
if—and only if—you thought it might
work for your clients, and that’s the
Listens to client/trainee and empowers
him around doing something different.
The relationship is collaborative, and I
respect his autonomy to choose.{EXAMPLE}

3COLLABORATING FOR SOCIAL CHANGE
Statement Commentary
spot you’re at now.
Rick: Exactly. I’m just not sure. Again in a position of confusion setting a contrast
with his previous behaviour. Rick is needs more
back up and encouragement from the DR.
DR: Well, I am not going to try to
convince you that this is the right or
only way to work with people, but it
sounds like you might be open if you
Thought it could help.
This shows that he is listening intently to the
client and is trying to get to the problem. But he
wants Rick to take his own decision and not
induce any idea in his head.
Rick: I’ll do whatever works. Rick is always showing an tendency in this tone
and in his words that his aim is clear, what he is
unsure is the procedure
DR: You’re committed to your clients and
good practice. It’s just now you need
some other kind of data—something
other than what I’ve said—to convince
you.
Trying to develop a support of rational to support
and balance the previous statements. To make the
statements more evidence based so that the client
can believe that to gain long term success a step
has to be taken ahead (Cartes-Velasquez et al.
2017).

4COLLABORATING FOR SOCIAL CHANGE
Statement Commentary
Rick: I’d need to see it work in practice. I
need to see it work with some of these
meth addicts.
Again Rick is also looking for evidence to back
up his decision which is a good way to move
ahead by in order to see evidence a step has to be
taken.
DR: So, you want to reserve judgment until
you’ve tried it and see how it works.
Rolling of resistance where he is not dismissing
the perspective of the client but is motivating him
to go ahead with the decision without thinking
about the results from beforehand (Magill et al.
2014).
Rick: I guess I do need to try it first. I am
someone who has to see it first hand.
Rick is also reassuring his decisions, and agrees
with DR that he need to first implement the steps
and then gather evidence to check the results.
DR: I wonder if you decided to give it a try,
how you might do it.
Taking the discussion forward and is trying to
analyse the decision of the client. And see how
clear the client is about the idea.
Rick: I’ve got a follow-up session tonight
with a client who had a dirty UA [urine
analysis]. I could try it then.
Rick is hopeful and talks about his plan to
implement the first step. He is saying this so that
he gets an assurance back from the DR in his
decision.
DR: I’d be curious to hear what happens if
you do try it. What, specifically, might
you do?
DR has to believe in the capability of the client in
order to induce motivation in the interview here
he is trying to talk to client through his plan so as