How many times have you heard about someone trying to get a loved one to stop drinking when said loved one doesn’t think they have a problem? Or how many times have you, as a clinician, told a depressed patient they should exercise more, yet they don’t follow through? If you’re tired of feeling like you’re banging your head against a wall, it might be time to take a different approach.

Motivational Interviewing encourages you to meet your clients right where they are, rather than telling them what they should do. MI answers a very heartfelt question that many helping professionals struggle with: How can we help our clients see that their behavior is problematic, without alienating them through pressuring them to change?

In this video, expert MI trainer Cathy Cole digs into this critical issue of increasing importance through discussions with Dr. Victor Yalom, and demystifies MI by demonstrating each technique in the three full-length sessions. Learn core MI techniques for increasing importance such as: reflections; chunk-check-chunk; elicit-provide-elicit; the importance ruler exercise; and looking ahead. By watching Cole skillfully engage each of the three clients and listening to her voiceover commentary, you will gain a deep understanding of what MI is, how to use it to increase importance, and why it is such a powerful and widely-used approach to behavior change.

For a comprehensive understanding of Motivational Interviewing, we recommend that you view the complete series, Motivational Interviewing Step by Step. Note that this is the second video in that series, and while you will learn a lot by watching only this one, you will get a much fuller understanding of the approach by viewing all of them. For a complete introduction to the fundamental principles and techniques of MI, we particularly recommend starting with the first video in the series, Core Concepts in Motivational Interviewing.