Motivational Interview Session

The discussion of the video below is in accordance with the Motivational Interviewing Reflection Tool (MIRT).

 Solution focused therapy is a model of therapy developed by Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg in the late 1970's (Dolan, n.d.). This model has become well known for its non-traditional approach to client problems as it does not explore clients issues in relation to their cause and affect but rather the goals and solutions to achieving a future free of any present issues. i will be discussing the evident concepts, principles and intervention techniques of this particular model. it will be explored in the context of a case scenario of a therapy session to observe how the model can be actively applied to therapy sessions and why this is the best model to meet the client's needs. The effectiveness of the model

Motivational interviewing is a practice wherein conveying acceptance of your client, you become an aid in the process of change. Motivational interviewing fosters Carl Rogers ' optimistic and humanistic theories; around ones competences for employing free choice and shifting through a course of self-actualization. The therapeutic relationship for both Motivational Interviewers and Rogerians’ is a democratic partnership. The concept of Motivational Interviewing (MI) progressed from the experience of treating problem drinkers. Motivational Interviewing was first described by William R. Miller, Ph.D., in 1983.

An interview utilizing motivational interviewing techniques was conducted by a nurse practitioner student and a consenting patient. The patient is a 55-year-old, male, with occupation as a heating, ventilation, and air conditioner technician that the nurse practitioner student identified on physical examination to have mild hearing loss. Hearing protection is admittedly not worn consistently at the jobsite during the history taking portion of the exam. This paper will discuss the behavioral health problem of noncompliance with hearing protection, the evidence supporting motivational interviewing strategies to support behavior change, and a discussion of the techniques used during the interview.

The process of motivational interviewing is essentially about creating "intrinsic motivation to change" within the client (Moyers, 1998). The choice to change must originate with the client and the process for helping this occur begins with motivational interviewing. There are two phases within motivational interviewing, the first focuses on increasing the client’s motivation to change and the second phase is negotiating a plan and consolidating commitment. It is important to understand the traps that can be encountered within this process, such as the question/answer trap. In this trap the client is led by the counselor with little chance to have free speech to explain themselves because the counselor is just focused on the next question instead of focusing on where the client is leading them. This trap is very similar to the expert trap in the fact that the client is left to believe they cannot find answers for themselves; they instead must listen to the expert who is giving them the answers. This is most definitely not the way to motivate a client to make changes for themselves. Other traps include premature focus, denial, labeling, and blaming; all of which can prevent the client from opening up in the treatment process.

Solution-Focused Therapy (SFT) was drawn out from the work of Milton Erickson. Most people identify SFT with the variation work from Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg. Solution-focused therapy is a therapy that is action oriented and focuses on finding solutions. In SFT, the client is considered the expert (they know exactly what the problem is), and the client has the resources to find a solution. SFT does not focus on diagnoses or assessments but focuses on what the client brings to therapy. Depending on the client and the problem, SFT has a 50% successful rate. SFT has many techniques to use to assist in finding solutions for problems. These techniques range from questioning the client to having the client complete homework assignments.

In this paper, I will discuss the case study of “Ana”. Ana is 24 years old, has lost her job, and worries about becoming homeless. She currently is a single parent due to her husband being deployed in a combat zone overseas for the next eight months. Ana is a first generation immigrant from Guatemala; she comes from a large family. She claims to have a close relationship with her family but has not seen her family for about a year. Her father is a banker and her mother an educator, her three siblings all has graduated college and have professional careers. Ana has completed one year of college, but needed to leave school after her son was born, finding it difficult to manage being a parent, student and a full-time employee as well. While showing signs of being depressed and anxious, she has agreed to eight sessions for treatment. Using this background information in this paper will cover the use of Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) for the treatment of Ana.

Family therapy is a technique that has many alternative approaches to every aspect of treatment which Nichols (2014), states may present a challenge when describing a basic technique. The two models of family therapy in which I feel that I would be most effective and comfortable with would be, experiential family therapy and solution-focused brief therapy. I feel most comfortable with these models because, I adapt to the role of the therapist of both therapies naturally. According to Nichols (2014), when families seek therapy they are stuck in a life-cycle transition, sometimes they are obvious and sometimes they are not obvious. I’ve found that during the first session an excellent question is to ask the client why now so that they can

Motivational interviewing is a counseling approach that was studied and understood as an applicable theory of practice that would be beneficial in the environment where I currently work which is an alcohol treatment facility. Whereas, it is understood that clinical and applied aspects of Motivational Interviewing (MI) have shown effective as a relatively brief intervention (Levensky, Cavasos, & Brooks, 2008), especially those dealing with an alcohol dependency. According to Miller and Roderick, MI, has been defined mostly as a directive, client centered counseling approach for eliciting behavior change by helping clients to explore and resolve ambivalence. In addition, with its goal-orientated approach it can help break down resistance to change (Corey, 2013, pp. 191-194). This theoretical approach is the most favored for the environment in my profession of choice, in addition, integrating it with the practice of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) which is already in use.

This essay is going to highlight the similarly and differences of the models and their main focus, and how the two models Gerald Egan The Skilled Helper and Steve De-Shazer Solution Focused Therapy will help the clients choose goals that best fit their environment and resources. The aim of using these models is to help people.

In the 1980’s Insoo Berg and Steve de Shazer developed steps into the practice of solution focused therapy in Milwaukee, USA. Solution focused therapy is a practice framework for social workers and other therapists. Solution focused therapy is a framework that primarily focuses on solution development. Other Frameworks lead therapy to focus on the past history of the problem that the client brings to therapy, and ending their sessions with a solution to the problem, or when the problem in no longer an issue for them.

As a solution focused brief therapist (SFBT), one needs to understand that the outcome of therapy is partially up to the client’s thoughts and understanding of therapy. Since this portion of therapy success is substantial, one needs to make sure that the client feels comfortable in therapy. Creating a safe environment for the client will help the client feel comfortable to talk about what has brought him or her into therapy. This safe environment will also include the inform consent forms stating what is said in therapy will remain confidential, and the therapists legal obligation to protect children from harm.

In SFBT, the therapist checks with the George regularly to see how he is doing in reaching his solutions or goals by asking scaling questions. This technique can be creatively applied to tap on the client’s perception about a wide range of

Among the three main approaches to insight therapy (psychoanalysis, client-centered, or group therapy), the one that l believe has the most reasonable way to deal with psychological problems, is client-centered therapy. Client-centered therapy is an insight therapy that emphasizes providing a supportive emotional climate for clients, who play a major role in determining the pace and direction of their therapy (pg. 459). According to Carl Rogers, the man who devised client-centered therapy, three elements were necessary to promote positive changes in therapy: Genuineness (honest communication), Unconditional positive regard (therapist remains supportive, non-judgmental) and Empathy (therapist understands issues from client’s point of view) (pg. 460). In following these three elements, client and therapist were working together equally and helped client become more aware of themselves and even feel more comfortable with their therapist and the idea of therapy. Some people don’t seek help because they feel therapy might be too intimidating for them or it’s a step that they fear having to take. I can agree with this, because from my personal experience, l had pushed off therapy for so long because l was afraid to admit that l needed it.

Understanding that solution-focused therapists operate under the assumption that clients already have the necessary skills to solve their problems, it is our job as therapists to help them regain insight into their problems. Therefore, it is understandable why solution-focused therapy is considered a brief therapeutic approach. If the clients already have the ability to solve their own issues then they just need to be reminded of their strengths and resources, shifting the focus.