What are the best strategies for building rapport with financially stressed clients using MI?

1 Express empathy

Empathy is the foundation of MI and rapport building. It means to understand and share your clients' feelings, perspectives, and values, without judging or imposing your own. You can express empathy by using reflective listening, affirming their strengths and efforts, summarizing their main points, and validating their emotions. Empathy helps your clients feel heard, respected, and supported, which can reduce their stress and increase their trust in you.

2 Explore ambivalence

Ambivalence is a common state of mind for financially stressed clients. They may want to change their situation, but they may also have doubts, fears, or barriers that hold them back. Instead of trying to persuade or convince them to change, you can use MI to explore their ambivalence and help them resolve it. You can do this by asking open-ended questions, eliciting change talk, evoking their reasons and values for change, and weighing the pros and cons of different options. Exploring ambivalence helps your clients clarify their goals, increase their confidence, and move forward with their plans.

4 Provide feedback and encouragement

Feedback and encouragement are important components of MI and rapport building. They help your clients monitor their progress, identify their strengths and challenges, and celebrate their achievements. You can provide feedback and encouragement by using scales or measures to track their outcomes, highlighting their positive changes and behaviors, acknowledging their difficulties and setbacks, and expressing optimism and hope. Feedback and encouragement help your clients stay motivated, focused, and resilient.