1. Amy Soto, MS Cara Wiley, MS Brigham Young University
Enhancing Conversations with Students: An Advising Practitioners Approach to Utilizing Motivational Interviewing to Elicit Change
Amy Soto, MS
Cara Wiley, MS
Brigham Young University
Cara – (1 minute)

2. What is Motivational Interviewing?
Definition:
“MI is a goal-oriented, client-centered counseling style for eliciting behavior change by helping clients to explore and resolve ambivalence.”(Miller & Rollnick, 2013)
Amy – (1Minute)

3. Application for Advising
What situations have you experienced with a student resisting change?
What situations have you experienced with a student that wants to change but doesn’t know how?
Major Choice
Academic Success/Improvement
Life Decisions
Career Decisions
Amy – (3 minutes) In terms of academic advising, partnership is an active collaboration between advisor and student. Acceptance is an unconditional, positive regard for the student (Roger, 1957) and is best expressed with empathy, not acquiescence to student demand. To be compassionate is to “actively promote the other’s welfare, to give priority to the other’s needs” (Miller & Rollnick, 2013). Lastly, evocation is to help others see their inner strength for change and elicit hope and confidence in the student.

4. A TASTE OF MI - ACTIVITY Pair Up TAKE 1 -
Follow the cues on the Take 1 card
Tell them how much they NEED to make this change
Give them a LIST OF REASONS for doing so
Emphasize the IMPORTANCE of changing
Tell them HOW to do it
Assure them that you CAN DO IT
Exhort them to GET ON WITH IT
Cara- (2 minutes)
Real Play - Share something you would like to change

5. A TASTE OF MI - ACTIVITY Cont...
TAKE 2 -
Follow the cues on the Take 2 card
“WHY would you want to make this change?”
“HOW might you go about it in order to succeed?”
“What are the THREE BEST REASONS for you to do it?”
“HOW IMPORTANT is it for you to make this change, and why?”
SUMMARIZE what they have said back to them
“So what do you THINK YOU’LL DO?”
Cara – (2 minutes)
2nd time – questions to ask

6. How did you feel with Take 1 vs. Take 2?
REACTIONS
How did you feel with Take 1 vs. Take 2?
Cara - (3 minutes)
Take 1 - Angry, Defensive, Uncomfortable, Powerless
Take 2 - Engaged, Empowered, Open, Understood

7. Philosophy and Spirit of MI
Collaborate rather than prescribe
Elicit rather than install
Honor autonomy of the individual
Not to force
Righting Response
Spirit of MI:
Partnership
Acceptance
Compassion
Evocation
Amy (3 minutes) The philosophy of Motivational Interviewing has 3 components: 1. Collaborate rather than prescribe, 2. Elicit rather than install, and 3. Honor autonomy of the individual. The principles that help guide those three components in MI are partnership, acceptance, compassion and evocation (Miller & Rollnick, 2013).

8. Overview of Categories
Responding to Change Talk (OARS)
Evoking Skills (Sustain v Change Talk)
Evoking Hope and Confidence (Confidence Ruler, Reflections)
Amy (1 minute)

9. Category 1: Responding to Change talk
Open Ended Questions
Affirmations
Reflections
Summary Statements
Amy – (1 minute)

10. Open Ended Questions
(Miller & Rollnick, 2013)
Invites a person to think before answering with an explanation
Cannot be answered by yes or no or a simple answer
What brings you here today?
How has this problem affected your day to day life?
Where do you think this path you are on is leading you?
What do you most value in life right now?
How do you hope I might be able to help you?
Tell me more about….
Amy (1 minute)
Open Ended:
Do you understand this? v. What do you understand?

11. Affirmations
To accentuate the positive – including individual’s worth, recognize strengths, successes and efforts to change
To support, to encourage
Includes respect and empathy without judgement
You really tried hard this week
Your intention is good even though it didn’t turn out as you would have liked
Thank you for coming in today. Thank you for your honesty. Thank you…
Your courage when tackling these challenges is admirable.
Amy (1 minute)

12. Reflections Most important skill in MI!!!
Goals: build empathy, encourage people to state own reasons for change, affirming that the advisor understand what a student is feeling and doing.
If you guess wrong, the student will correct you.
Parroting
It sounds like…
It seems as if…
What I hear you saying…
I get the sense that…
Student: ” I’m so overwhelmed with my class. My teacher is really tough.”
Advisor: “Sounds like you are struggling with the subject matter.”
Cara (2 minute)

13. Summary Statements
Multiple reflections that pull together what the student has said
This should be brief.
Purpose:
Linking – Tie together different parts of the message
Collecting – Identify themes or patterns
Transitions – Review progress
Interrupt excessive rambling
(Cormier & Nurius, 2003)
Cara (1 minute)

14. OARS Example & Practice
Cara (5 minute) What can you tell me about this example?
Ineffective -

15. OARS Example & Practice
Effective -
Cara (7 minute) Groups of 3

16. Oreo activity White = Opened Ended Questions Black/Brown = Reflections
OARS Activity
Oreo activity
White = Opened Ended Questions
Black/Brown = Reflections
Cara – 2 rounds of 5 minutes each (5 minute) Real Play – switching roles

17. Category 2: Evoking skills- Recognizing Change V. Sustain Talk
Change Talk:
I know I can do it
I should take better care of my health
Something has to change
Sustain Talk (not changing):
I can’t do it
I’m not ready.
There’s no way I’m going to do that
Amy (2 minutes)
Examples of Change and Sustain from our Stress Producing and Stress Reducing Statements.

18. Activity – Recognizing Change and Sustain Talk
It probably won’t work
I’ll never do this right
I should , but…
I’m not good enough
I can do it
I know I need to change
My best is good enough
Amy (3 minutes)

19. Category 3: Evoking Hope and Confidence & Planning
Confidence Ruler
Elicit-Provide-Elicit (EPE)
Evoking Questions
How would you like things to be different?
How would things be better if you changed?
What is the worst thing that could happen?
Do you remember a time in the past when it went well? What was going on then?
Amy (3 minutes overview) – What has [this behavior] cost you?

20. Change v. Sustain & Evoking
Amy (10 minutes)
Divide into 3 teams – Team A looks for OARS, Team B looks for Change v. Sustain talk, and Team C looks for Evoking Hope and Confidence & Planning

21. Wrap Up
Review handout
How can you see yourselves using this skill in academic advising?
Set a SMART goal
Any Questions?
Cara (2 minutes)

22. References
Cormier, S. & Nurius, P. S. (2003). Interviewing and change strategies for helpers (5th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Miller, W. R. & Rollnick, S. (2013). Motivational Interviewing: Helping people change (3rd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.