Your client is guarded in Motivational Interviewing. How can you break through their defenses?

In my experience, establishing a genuine connection with an individual is crucial for building trust. By actively listening to them, we can identify what matters to them and use that information to establish common ground, which ultimately helps in fostering trust. I have learned that when a person feels truly understood by a professional, trust naturally follows.

Combining motivational interviewing with the development of executive function skills can empower clients to make meaningful and lasting changes in their lives. By building trust, actively listening, and helping clients discover their "why," we can guide them through a transformative process. Crafting a strategic plan for the future, continuous reflection, and overcoming obstacles are key components in this journey. Ultimately, this approach helps clients get out of their own way, enabling them to perform and accomplish their goals, creating a positive ripple effect in all areas of their lives.

Holding space for the client to express themselves fully is important. Make sure to stay silent until the client is complete rather than jumping in too early. A good practice to make sure you are hearing the correct message is to paraphrase, such as, "I heard you say that you are feeling overwhelmed by the expectations at work and your insecurities about your capabilities. Is that accurate?" That way, your client knows that you are listening carefully, and has a chance to correct you or add information if you missed anything.

While counseling a client with eating disorder, she was so concerned about this problem that during the interview session she gave a lot of helpful information that she was not aware of. However, it was while i was reflecting on some of the things she said earlier that she picked up suddenly and had a retrospective reflections on her past unhealthy dietary patterns and choices .We agreed on various alternatives and sustainable options in the management plan. she went away happy because she made some critical choices about her meal plan based on the informations she has aforementioned during the interview session.

Also just to add practicing reflective listening, you can become a better communicator and improve your relationship with your clients during counseling.Remember, it's not about agreeing or disagreeing; it's about understanding the your client’s perspective.

You could be using all the techniques of reflective listening, but there is something about developing a genuine sense of curiosity that communicates to the other person that you are really listening. Maybe it’s a matter of body language, like how you subtly nod while making eye contact. If you can’t bring yourself to be genuinely curious about what the person has to say, then you probably won’t even be able to pick out the key words to ask a follow-up question about anyway.

One of the most powerful techniques in MI and other forms of counselling. - one thing that helped me is understanding how to respond i.e. what format to use while responding. - understanding the difference between simple and complex reflections. Not every situation will be addressed by simply repeating what the client is saying, try to identify which type of reflection will be suitable before you respond. - practicing reflective listening wherever possible. Reflective listening requires attentiveness and analysis. The more you practice it in your conversations, better you will be at dealing with resistant or passive situations.

Use open-ended questions to guide your client towards visualizing their future. Ask questions such as, "What does your ideal career look like?" or "How do you see yourself achieving your goals?" These questions help them think about their aspirations and can lower their defenses by focusing on their hopes and dreams rather than their fears or anxieties.

What’s often underappreciated when asking open-ended questions is the art of rephrasing. Too many people make the mistake of asking overly broad questions that they wouldn’t even be able to answer themselves, and then just sitting there while the other person struggles to respond. By all means, give them the space to formulate their thoughts, but don’t be afraid to rephrase and define the scope of their potential answers so that they don’t get lost or go off on a tangent.

Sometimes a client might have a hard time answering an open ended question- allow for a pause or silence and give them time to think! You can even ask how the question itself makes them feel, or how they could imagine themselves answering. It can take the pressure off of them to come up with something quickly, and sometimes reveal the answer.

Asking questions is a skill. If you want to achieve results, learn to ask questions that require a detailed answer. A question that can be answered yes or no does not give you any additional information. Your goal is to make the client think and tell you about his thoughts, emotions and feelings. Both you and your client need results from this conversation. By asking open questions, the client has the opportunity to pull the answer to this question from the depths of his subconscious. There are things we think about but don't talk about. It is the questions that force us to talk about it out loud.

Durch gezieltes Nachfragen, um ein tieferes Verst?ndnis für Gedanken, Gefühle und Anliegen des Kunden zu erhalten, zeige ich Interesse und Wertsch?tzung. Offene Fragen erm?glichen es dem Kunden, sich auszudrücken und ihre Perspektive zu teilen, was Vertrauen schafft und die Abwehrhaltung reduzieren kann. Diese empathische Gespr?chsführung hilft dabei, Barrieren abzubauen, das gegenseitige Verst?ndnis zu f?rdern und gemeinsam positive L?sungswege zu entwickeln.

I have found that mindfulness and guided visualizations are key in helping guarded clients. Encouraging them to visualize past successes and moments of resilience allows them to reconnect with their inner strength. Additionally, practicing intentional gratitude shifts their focus from failures to small wins, reinforcing their capacity to find joy even during challenging times. Celebrating even the smallest wins can make a significant difference in boosting their confidence. By affirming their strengths and celebrating their resilience, we help them build confidence and see that they are not defined by their pain or setbacks. This empowers them to take proactive steps towards their well-being.

Um die Abwehrreaktionen meines Kunden w?hrend eines Motivationsgespr?chs zu überwinden, ist es wichtig, seine St?rken zu betonen. Indem ich Lob und Anerkennung für seine F?higkeiten und bisherigen Erfolge ausspreche, st?rke ich sein Selbstbewusstsein und zeige Wertsch?tzung. Durch die Betonung der positiven Aspekte ermutige ich den Kunden, sein Potenzial zu erkennen und auf seine St?rken zu vertrauen. Dies kann dazu beitragen, die Abwehrhaltung abzubauen und eine konstruktive Gespr?chsatmosph?re zu schaffen, in der der Kunde motiviert ist, positive Ver?nderungen anzugehen.

I challenge the way this question is worded. In MI, a foundational premise is that there is ambivalence. A clinician should roll with the ambivalence, gently exploring it to help the client move to a better place.

Um die Abwehrreaktionen meines Kunden w?hrend des Motivationsgespr?chs zu überwinden, ist es wichtig, die Ambivalenz zu erforschen. Durch einfühlsames Hinterfragen und Verst?ndnis für gemischte Gefühle und Gedanken des Kunden kann ich ihm erm?glichen, seine inneren Konflikte zu erkunden und zu verstehen. Indem wir gemeinsam die Gründe für seine Ambivalenz beleuchten, schaffen wir Klarheit und erm?glichen es, Blockaden zu l?sen. Das Erforschen der Ambivalenz hilft dem Kunden, sich bewusst zu werden, welche Wünsche, Bedenken oder Zweifel seine Abwehr ausl?sen, und ermutigt ihn, einen Weg zur Ver?nderung zu finden.

Encourage the client to talk about their desire, ability, reasons, and need for change. - Use techniques like querying extremes, looking back/forward, and exploring goals and values to elicit change talk.

I feel that the most important component is to ROLL WITH RESISTANCE!!! Everyone wants to be heard. Everyone wants to be understood.

Identifying unhelpful behaviors. Assessing harms and consequence's.Discuss benefits of harmful behaviors. Add losses, hardships, loved ones, others. Unravel emotional state.Seek out what's happened. Explore evidence based therapies, what's worked before. Formulate strength based plans.Teach mindfulness identifying triggers to avoid. Help self esteem stating they are deserving of benefits by changes. Efforts will be inspirational to others. Self regulation can identify emotional focus. Accepting relapse as a part of the journey, knowing why, which people or places to avoid.Celebrating victories, reaping benefits. Improved finances, friendships, confidence, resilience in tough times, Achievable steps. That's is how to be motivational .

Activate their humor! Humor is such a powerful component of natural conversations - it humanises a conversation, it can bring a sense of relief, it's a powerful pattern interrupt and it helps to calm the nerves ??