Motivational Interview In Health Care
The motivational interview (CM) in the health sector is important for promoting healthy habits and eradicating practices that are potentially harmful to health.
As highlighted in an article published in the RET journal , the motivational interview serves to stimulate behavioral change and to promote interpersonal relationships, in order to resolve ambivalences.
The motivational interview in the health sector: what is it about?
The motivational interview (CM) in the medical field represents a strategy or a tool aimed at combating potentially harmful behaviors.
As many health problems associated with behavior arise in adolescence and youth, this tool becomes particularly important at these stages of life.
In this regard, and unlike what one might think, some research studies, such as the one published in 2017 in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology , show that it is more influential in people who are not inclined or motivated to change.
Well, much has been written about behavior modification strategies. The use of incentives was also mentioned among these proposals, for example.
Communication strategy or style?
The motivational interview (CM) in healthcare is often considered a scientific approach aimed at changing behavior.
According to the report published in the journal Gaceta Médica , health professionals who opted for the motivational interview (CM) compared to traditional counseling observed better outcomes in terms of patients’ health. Yet definitions of this approach vary and also include inaccurate and outdated interpretations.
What does the motivational interview consist of?
According to research conducted by Miller and Rollnick, reported on their text entitled Motivational Interview. Helping People Change:
According to these two authors, therefore, the characteristics of the motivation interview in the health sector would be the following:
- An orientative communicative style, which contemplates the importance of listening, giving information and advice.
- It is designed to empower the patient to change behaviors and be more resilient. Furthermore, it is based on a method that favors natural change and the development of autonomy.
- It leverages the existence of certain ambivalences with respect to the possibility of implementing changes which, although advantageous in the medium term, are not always considered possible.
Some considerations on the motivational interview technique
The professional who adopts this technique must ask open questions, which for example may be typical of a job interview. They also aim to analyze the patient’s experiences, points of view and ideas.
At the same time, the reflections are based on careful listening and trying to understand what the patient wants to communicate. To do this, the practitioner repeats, reformulates or presents a clearer idea than the patient expressed.
The one just described is a fundamental skill in the motivational interview, in particular, to convey empathy, a fundamental ingredient.
On CM in the health sector …
It is essential to know the meaning, successes, logic and methodology of the motivational interview (CM). Whether or not this is the only or best alternative, it is up to the professional treating a teenager or a young patient to decide.
Well, anyone who adopts it or wishes to put it into practice will have to build their own action strategy based on valid scientific data on the matter, such as those set out in this article.
