Instructions
- Download this Observer Sheet to document what you observed of Dr. Selby demonstrating the Spirit of MI and the use of the OARS in the video link below.
- Watch this short video of Dr. Selby demonstrating the four principles of Motivational Interviewing and complete your observer sheet.
- Response to discussion question using the comment board below. Note: You must post your response by 5PM ET the day before the next live webinar session to earn your certificate of completion.
Discussion Question: How did Dr. Selby express empathy to his clients during his interaction? Please provide examples of verbal and non verbal communications. Were there any missed opportunities to use Motivational Interviewing skills?
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Empathy can be expressed in various ways. With Dr. Selby, he expressed this with his facial expressions and eye contact - he genuinely seemed interested and invested in Sandra's goal towards quitting smoking. Verbal communication was expressed when he summarized what Sandra said to ensure he understood what she was sharing with him. Non-Verbally, Dr. Selby was keeping eye contact, not focusing on taking notes but engaging in conversation. He was also nodding his head and smiling at appropriate times, offering Sandra reassurance that she is not being judged.
A moment MI could have been used, but was missed in the video, was during the 4th principal. Dr. Selby could have closed the conversation by reassuring Sandra that though she may not be ready to quit smoking yet, she is taking a brave step towards this goal by seeing him today and thinking about realistic ways she can achieve and maintain this goal.
It is my observation that Dr.Selby expressed empathy to this patient by attempting to create a positive and non-judgmental conversation surrounding her smoking addiction. Dr.Selby reminded her of what she did well when she stopped smoking for a month; he summarized her explanations in order for her to realize that she was being heard and he mentioned at one point that he understands that to quit smoking is hard work. In his verbal communications, he used an important open-ended question which was “tell me what’s been going on with your attempts to quit smoking?" This question allowed the patient to ‘have the floor’ about her situation, feelings and issues. Some examples of Dr Selby’s non-communication was the calming tone of his voice, direct eye contact and the nodding of his head while she explained herself. I believed his non-verbal cues were appropriate. I did not recognize any missed opportunities in Dr Selby’s use of Motivational Interviewing.
Dr. S expressed empathy through verbally agreeing with the client that it is difficult to quit smoking. He reiterated that the client had "tried and it is hard". He also summarized her statements frequently to ensure the client knew she was heard. When he said "you quit for one month and were able to put up with the symptoms and that she shows her desire by cutting down on her smoking by not smoking while she drives and not smoking around her husband" you could see the client respond positively, like she had accomplished something. Dr. S. did appear to lean in a little while she was explaining the cost/benefit of smoking as well as when he started the session with "tell me about..."
I did notice he used a lot of "tell me about" rather than open ended questions when asking the client to describe something.
I did not hear Dr. S. build client input and decision making in the session. It appeared that there was no real partnership built, that I could discern, and I did not hear the client take ownership in planning the steps she needed to take to quit smoking.