Motivational Interviewing Workshop

Join our Motivational Interviewing workshop to master proven techniques for guiding patients towards healthier behaviors. Learn to effectively engage and motivate patients, whether it's quitting smoking or managing chronic conditions. Gain practical skills to overcome resistance and foster commitment to change in collaborative conversations. Elevate your practice and improve patient outcomes with our comprehensive MI program.

The two day face-to-face training will consist of a blend of brief theoretical introductions, demonstrations, video analyses, role-plays, discussions, practical simulations, and exercises. The training will be conducted in Dutch, with a few materials in English (video clips); hence, a passive understanding of English is desirable.

Your Benefits

  • Evidence-Based Approach: MI is an evidence-based method with proven effectiveness in facilitating behavior change. By learning and implementing MI techniques, participants can enhance their effectiveness in helping patients make positive changes in their health behaviors.

  • Improved Patient Outcomes: By mastering the skills of MI, participants can better engage and empower their patients to overcome ambivalence and resistance to change. This leads to improved patient outcomes, such as increased adherence to treatment plans, better management of chronic conditions, and overall improved health and well-being.

  • Enhanced Communication Skills: MI equips participants with essential communication skills, including asking open-ended questions, reflective listening, affirmations, summarizing, and providing information. These skills not only facilitate behavior change discussions but also improve overall communication with patients, leading to stronger therapeutic alliances and better patient-provider relationships.

  • Flexibility and Adaptability: MI can be integrated into various healthcare settings and tailored to individual patient needs. Participants learn how to adapt MI techniques to different patient populations, conditions, and treatment goals, making it a versatile approach applicable across a wide range of healthcare contexts.

  • Personal and Professional Growth: Participating in the MI program provides an opportunity for personal and professional growth. Participants deepen their understanding of behavior change theory, hone their clinical skills, and gain confidence in their ability to effectively support patients in making positive changes. This leads to increased job satisfaction and fulfillment in their role as healthcare providers.

  • Continuing Education and Development: MI training offers ongoing opportunities for learning and development. Participants receive feedback on their skills, engage in role-plays and case studies, and have access to resources and support for further skill refinement and implementation. This continuous learning process allows participants to stay current with best practices in behavior change interventions and enhance their effectiveness as healthcare professionals.

What you will learn

  • Concepts and Principles of MI: Participants will gain a thorough understanding of the theoretical foundations and guiding principles of MI, including the spirit of MI, which emphasizes collaboration, evocation, and autonomy support.

  • Basic MI Skills: Participants will develop proficiency in fundamental MI skills, including:

  • Asking open-ended questions to encourage exploration and elicit the patient's perspective.

  • Reflective listening to demonstrate empathy, deepen understanding, and evoke change talk.

  • Affirmations to recognize and reinforce the patient's strengths, efforts, and positive attributes.

  • Summarizing to synthesize key points, enhance understanding, and facilitate progress.

  • Identifying Change Goals: Participants will learn how to effectively identify and clarify the patient's goals for behavior change, aligning interventions with the patient's values, priorities, and aspirations.

  • Eliciting and Responding to Change Talk: Participants will learn strategies for recognizing, eliciting, affirming, and responding to change talk—the patient's expressions of motivation, commitment, and readiness for change.

  • Managing Resistance and Discord: Participants will learn how to recognize and effectively respond to resistance and discord in patient interactions, fostering a collaborative and non-confrontational atmosphere conducive to change.

  • Increasing Motivation for Change: Participants will learn techniques for enhancing the patient's motivation for change, including exploring ambivalence, highlighting discrepancies between goals and current behavior, and reinforcing the patient's intrinsic motivation.

  • Directively Reflecting on Change Talk: Participants will develop skills in using reflective statements to amplify and reinforce the patient's change talk, guiding the conversation towards behavior change goals.

  • Making Change Agreements: Participants will learn how to collaboratively develop and negotiate change agreements with patients, setting achievable goals and action steps for behavior change.

  • Strengthening Commitment and Implementation: Participants will learn strategies for strengthening the patient's commitment to change and supporting the implementation of change plans, including addressing barriers and enhancing self-efficacy.

Teaching Method

The teaching modus for the Motivational Interviewing (MI) training program would be interactive and experiential, utilizing a variety of methods to engage participants and enhance learning. Here's how the training might be structured:

  • Lectures and Presentations: The program would begin with informative lectures and presentations introducing participants to the concepts, principles, and techniques of MI. These sessions would provide a solid foundation of theoretical knowledge and set the stage for practical skill development.

  • Demonstrations and Role-plays: To illustrate MI techniques in action, trainers would conduct live demonstrations of MI interactions with simulated patients or scenarios. Participants would then have the opportunity to engage in role-plays, taking on the roles of both the healthcare provider and the patient, to practice applying MI skills in realistic situations.

  • Small Group Discussions and Case Studies: Participants would engage in small group discussions to debrief after role-plays, share insights, and troubleshoot challenges encountered during practice sessions. Case studies based on real-world scenarios would be used to deepen understanding and stimulate critical thinking about how to apply MI principles in different clinical contexts.

  • Skills Practice and Feedback: Participants would engage in structured skills practice sessions, where they would work in pairs or small groups to practice specific MI techniques under the guidance of trainers. Trainers would provide constructive feedback and coaching to help participants refine their skills and address areas for improvement.

  • Video Analysis: Video clips demonstrating MI interactions would be used for analysis and discussion, allowing participants to observe effective MI techniques in action and learn from real-world examples.

  • Reflection and Integration: Throughout the training, participants would be encouraged to reflect on their learning and consider how they can integrate MI principles and techniques into their clinical practice. Opportunities for self-assessment and goal-setting would be provided to support ongoing skill development beyond the training program.