From the motivational interviewing of William R. Miller and Stephen Rollnick (Motivational Interviewing, third edition, 2013), with the commitment-language research of Paul C. Amrhein (2003).
Listens for a person's own statements of desire, ability, reasons, need, commitment, activation, and steps taken toward change, and draws each one out further.
When to reach for it
Someone needs to change a behavior, and pressure has only made them dig in; their own reasons for changing have to be heard.
How it runs
- Listen for any statement in the seven categories.
- Reflect each one back in their words.
- Ask them to say more about it.
- Summarize the reasons they have given so far.
- Move from reasons toward commitment as the talk develops.
- Hold back from arguing for the change yourself.
Where it sits in SOLVE eX
Go to the source
- Motivational Interviewing: Helping People Change, third edition, Guilford Press, 2013
- Client commitment language during motivational interviewing predicts drug use outcomes, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 2003