MI in Action and a Red Bull Dilemma.
Motivational Interviewing helps bring safety to any conversation
We had an awesome practice on MI Practice on Monday! One of our group offered a real play dilemma, his ambivalent relationship with Red Bull and other energy drinks. Red Bull helps him stay focused during a long day. He is more productive and feels great after drinking it, and at the same time, he is noticing he is drinking so many during the day, he is starting to get worried, and his sleep is disrupted.
The group of six MI helpers managed to run the bases with our speaker all the way the third base, with the speaker having several little epiphanies along the way. These are some of the things he said as the conversation was happening
“Hearing you say that back to me makes me realize …”
“I just remembered that I stopped for a month last year. I had completely forgotten that.”
“Oh yeah, there were lots of headaches when I stopped. I don’t want to do that again, maybe I’ll try cutting down more slowly this time.”
This, I think, is the power of a good MI conversation. It creates safety, and when there is safety, the amygdala can calm down, the brain settles, and in that safety the client can think more clearly about their situation.
Safety invites the client’s whole brain to be engaged. This leads to new ideas, recovery of useful memories, and more creativity.
Caffeine Revisited
As with any addictive substance, there are two qualities that make anything addictive
1 - You develop a tolerance to it: so you need more and more to get the results you are looking for.
2 - You go through withdrawal when you try to stop
Such was our Monday speaker's dilemma. He was needing more and more drinks to get the benefit of the energy. “I know the volume I’m drinking is not good for me.” The cost was not in dollars, but in everything else that gets ingested, along with the energy “crash” when it all wears off.
As our practice group did a great job exploring the pain and cost of the status quo of using, a second issue emerged towards the end of our conversation:
Stopping is hard.
This fact can really derail the intention to make a change. It can create an obstacle so big, making that change can start to feel hopeless.
And this then becomes phase two of the conversation.
Join us next week :)
Sky
A good MI conversation will evoke
both Importance and Confidence
both Desire and Ability
Want to develop more fluency in the language on MI?
We offer 3 free classes a week.
Join us if you would like.
Last chance to register, the workshop is this Friday
SEE THE FULL CALENDAR OF CLASSES AND RESERVE YOUR SPOT
We meet for free MI Snacks on Wednesdays at 11am Eastern Time (NYC)
And free MI Practice Sessions on Mondays at 12 and Fridays at 9am, ET
Reserve Your Spot Here
Here is the Zoom Link
We use the same link for all sessions,
Be careful, clicking this link will take you directly into the Zoom room!
MI Zoom Link
Time Zone
Note, these are Eastern Times Zones, New York City
Check your time zone here
https://www.worldtimebuddy.com/
MI Fast-track
For those who want a smaller group experience
To maximize their MI fluency and work on their MI credentials
https://www.wv-mi.com/mi-coaching
We are all in this together
Sky Kershner, LPC, ALPS, LCSW, DMin
Assistant Professor, WVU School of Medicine
MINT Certified Trainer of Motivational Interviewing
AAMFT Approved Supervisor / CISM Trainer
304-220-0088 / www.wv-mi.com / everyday mi
