{"id":308,"date":"2020-09-15T16:00:40","date_gmt":"2020-09-15T20:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cedarville.edu\/disruptive-healthcare\/?p=308"},"modified":"2020-09-15T14:44:36","modified_gmt":"2020-09-15T18:44:36","slug":"motivational-interviewing-leveraging-internal-motivation-to-make-health-behavior-changes-easier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cedarville.edu\/disruptive-healthcare\/motivational-interviewing-leveraging-internal-motivation-to-make-health-behavior-changes-easier\/","title":{"rendered":"Motivational Interviewing: Leveraging Internal Motivation to Make Health Behavior Changes Easier"},"content":{"rendered":"

Consider how hard it is to change yourself and you’ll understand what little chance you have in trying to change others. \u201d \u2013 Jacob M. Braude<\/p>\n

Mr. Smith has just gotten a new prescription for his newly-diagnosed diabetes and is getting it filled at his local pharmacy. The pharmacist has known Mr. Smith for years and asks him how he\u2019s doing with the new diagnosis. Mr. Smith explains, \u201cI know the doctor told me I need to change my diet and exercise, but I think I\u2019m just going to take this pill \u2014 I don\u2019t want to change my diet.\u201d What would you say next if you were his pharmacist? For many of us, we have this irresistible urge to persuade Mr. Smith until he agrees to adhere to what his doctor recommended. But, is this really the best approach? Or, should we try something different?\u00a0 What\u2019s in the best interest of the patient?<\/p>\n

Motivating Changes in Health Behaviors<\/b><\/h4>\n

Think about the last time you made a change. Why did you start the change? It could be something you read, or a friend told you, or an event, such as the start of a new year. Typically, there was a reason for achieving that goal, a goal you wanted to achieve, and a belief that you could do it! Chances are you didn\u2019t make the change simply because someone told you to change. It\u2019s a natural human instinct to resist persuasion.\u00a0 Just like us, patients can find it harder to change when challenged. Instead, there are other ways to help our patients make the changes they need for their health, like motivational interviewing (MI).<\/p>\n

MI is a patient-centered communication approach that focuses on working with a patient finding their motivation, or their reason, to make a change. The four main principles used in MI are:<\/p>\n