Motivational Interviewing (MI) Flashcards
What are low intensity treatments?
Compared to traditional treatment:
- Lower dose of the intervention
- Less contact with a therapist
- More self-direction of the client
- Modes of delivery: e.g. books, online, telephone
- Flexibility: time and pace
- Content is not necessarily different
The content of the intervention is not necessarily different
For a therapist this all requires a different way of working than in traditional face-to-face treatments
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is very suitable for Low Intensity Treatments because:
- Protocolised
- Short and to the point
- Practical (with assignments, in here and now)
This is certainly not the only treatment type suitable for low-intensity treatments
Why low-intensity-treatments?
Treatment Gap: Not many people seek and receive help for symptoms
- Lack of well-trained therapists
- Limited access to therapists
- High costs of treatment
- Stigma
Low-intensity treatments can make treatments accessible and affordable
Application of Low Intensity Treatments:
Highest need in common mental disorders such as anxiety and depression:
- Prevention
- Mild symptoms
But low intensity treatments have a much broader use
Organisation of care
Health care delivery:
- Freely available for the general population (e.g. self-help books, online treatments, mobile applications)
- Treatment (without or with minimal guidance)
- Addition to face-to-face treatment
- First step in a stepped care model
- Collaborative care
Organisation of care (Role of Therapist):
Therapist
- Different ways of communication dependent on the mode of delivery (email, telephone, chat)
- Role of the therapist is more coaching : motivation, education, monitoring, feedback
- Other background : (trained) nurses, GPs, BSc or MSc psychologists, lay person
- Basic knowledge of therapeutic techniques is key and supervision is important
Material (Low Intensity Treatments) characteristics:
Developing self-help material is a skill in its own right.
- Readable
- Unambiguous
- Engaging
- Appealing
- User-friendly
Are low intensity treatments effective?
- Yes, the treatments are effective when a therapist is involved
- The effects seem similar to face-to-face treatments
There is no convincing evidence that the following lead to higher effectiveness:
- Number of sessions
- More complex therapy
- Mode of delivery
- Therapist qualifications
what should be leading in Low Intensity Treatments?
Patient preference and expectations should be leading
Conclusion (Effectiveness of LIT)
- Minimal difference between face-to-face and guided self-help interventions (d=0.02 to the benefit of self-help)
- At 12 months follow-up there was no difference
- There was no difference in drop-out
So guided self-help and face-to-face treatments may be equally effective and implementation is a next step
What is motivational interviewing (MI)?
‘Directive, client centered, counseling style for eliciting behaviour change by helping clients to explore and resolve ambivalence’
The client is encouraged to take responsibility for the decisions that are made
Development of MI
- Comes from the field of addiction to motivate clients for behavioral change
- Aim is to increase treatment adherence (to the behavior change) and clinical outcomes
- Moved to other fields more recently such as lifestyle, psychological problems such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders
MI in practice
(1) Stand alone treatment (e.g. addiction)
(2) At the start of treatment (e.g. CBT)
(3) Integrated in the intake*
- More focus on MI when ambivalence or resistance is present
- Requires some flexibility of the interventions
Rationale (MI)
- Education is often not to sufficient to instigate behavior change
- From good intentions to behavior change is a big step
- Ambivalence towards ‘new’ behavior hinders implementation of intentions, i.e. wanting and not wanting to change whereas the reasons are incompatible
- This ambivalence is experienced as ‘uncomfortable’ and leads tot negative affect such as anxiety, avoidance, and procrastination
- MI helps to resolve this ambivalence by focusing on someone’s own motivation for change
What does MI involve?