The video for this presentation is available on our Youtube channel: https://youtube.com/allceuseducation A continuing education course for this presentation can be found at https://www.allceus.com/member/cart/index/index?c= This powerpoint is part of AllCEU's Addiction Counselor Training Series. Part of the screening process involves not only identifying a possible problem, but helping the patient to identify it as a problem that they are willing to work on. Part of this process of motivational enhancement includes helping patients see there is an issue, that it is controllable or able to be dealt with and how it will help them achieve their goals. This powerpoint links to protocols for helping train clinicians in Motivational Enhancement Therapy. Each week we provide 8 hours of face-to-face continuing education and precertification training to LPCs, LADCs, and those wishing to become addiction counselors. Many states allow precertification to be done via online learning as well. We are approved education providers by NAADAC #599 and NBCC #6261

1. Instructor: Dr. Dawn-Elise Snipes PhD, LPC-MHSP, NCC

2.  Compare and contrast MET with other approaches to therapy
 Briefly review the FRAMES approach
 Describe the stages of change
 Define EE-DD-AA-RR-SS
 Identify what actions to take in each of the sessions
 Explore strategies for increasing motivation and ―rolling with
resistance‖
 Discuss who is appropriate for MET
 Discuss ways to use MET with patients with co-occurring
disorders

3.  4 session protocol
 De-emphasis on labels
 Emphasis on personal choice regarding future
behavior
 Objective evaluation focused on eliciting the
CLIENT’s OWN concerns
 Resistance is an interpersonal behavior pattern
indicating failure to accurately empathize
 Resistance is met with reflection

4.  Argue with clients
 Impose diagnostic labels
 Tell clients what they ―must‖ do
 Seek to ―break down‖ denial through direct
confrontation
 Imply client’s powerlessness

5.  Precontemplation
 Contemplation
 Preparation
 Action
 Maintenance

6.  Express Empathy
◦ Reflective listening (accurate empathy) is a key skill
 Develop Discrepancy
◦ Perceive a discrepancy between where they are and where they
want to be
◦ Raise clients’ awareness of the personal consequences of their
drinking in order to precipitate a crisis increasing motivation
for change
 Avoid Argumentation
◦ No attempt is made to have the client accept or ―admit‖ a
problem

7.  Roll with resistance
◦ New ways of thinking about problems are invited but
not imposed.
◦ Ambivalence is viewed as normal, not pathological,
and is explored openly.
◦ Solutions are usually evoked from the client rather
than provided by the therapist
 Support self-efficacy
◦ People will not try to change unless they believe there
is HOPE for success

8.  Control
◦ Self-efficacy
◦ Hope and Faith
 Commitment
◦ Courage and Discipline
 Challenge

9. Cognitive Behavioral Motivational Enhancement
 Assumes client is
motivated
 Identify and modify
maladaptive cognitions
 Prescribes change
strategies
 Builds client motivation
 Explores and reflects
client perception
without correcting
 Elicits change
strategies from the
client

10. Nondirective MET
 Client determines
content and direction
 Avoids injecting
counselor’s advice and
feedback
 Empathy is used
noncontingently
 Directs client toward
motivation
 Offers advice and
feedback
 Empathic reflection
used selectively to
reinforce certain points

11.  Since you are here, I assume you have been having some
concerns or difficulties related to your use. Tell me about them.
 Tell me a little about your drinking. What do you like about it?
What’s positive about drinking for you? And what’s the other
side? What are your worries about drinking?
 What you’ve noticed about how your drinking has changed over
time? What things do you think could be problems, or might
become problems?
 What have others said about your drinking? What are they
worried about?
 What makes you think that perhaps you need to make a change
in your drinking?

12.  Tolerance—do you seem to be able to drink more than other
people without showing as much effect?
 Memory—have you had periods of not remembering what
happened while drinking or other memory problems?
 Relationships—has drinking affected your relationships?
 Health—are you aware of any health problems related to use?
 Legal—have you had any legal issues because of behavior
while drinking?
 Financial—has drinking contributed to money problems?

13.  Decisional Balance
Benefits/ Good
Things
Consequences/
Fears
Keep Drinking
Stop Drinking

14.  Drinking is really important to you. Tell me about that.
 What is it about drinking that you really need to hang
onto?
 Information and Advice
◦ Do alcohol problems run in your family?
◦ What do you think it means to be ―addicted‖ or an
―alcoholic‖
◦ If I quit drinking, will __(problems)__improve?

15.  Information and Advice cont…
◦ What’s a safe level of drinking?
 0 --is the greatest amount someone with a history of
drinking problems can safely drink. Safest for anyone
 1—Largest amount in an hour
 2 – Greatest amount in a day that won’t increase health risk
 3 – Greatest amount in a day that won’t increase risk of
impairment
 14 – Greatest amount in a week

16.  Advantages
◦ it is unlikely to evoke client resistance
◦ it encourages the client to keep talking and exploring the topic
◦ it communicates respect and caring and builds an alliance
◦ it clarifies for the therapist exactly what the client means
◦ it can be used to reinforce ideas expressed by the client
 Reflect selectively, reinforcing parts of what the client has
said and ignoring others.
 Clients not only hear themselves saying a self-motivational
statement, but also hear you saying that they said it.

17.  Benefits
◦ Strengthening the working relationship,
◦ Enhancing a sense of self-responsibility and empowerment
◦ Reinforcing effort and self-motivational statements
◦ Supporting client self-esteem
 Some examples:
◦ I appreciate your hanging in there through this
feedback, which must be pretty rough for you.
◦ I think it’s great that you’re strong enough to recognize the
risk and that you want to do something before it gets serious.
◦ You really have some good ideas for how you might change.

18.  Interrupting—cutting off or talking over the therapist
 Arguing—challenging the therapist, discounting the
therapist’s views, disagreeing, open hostility
 Sidetracking—changing the subject, not responding, not
paying attention
 Defensiveness—minimizing or denying the problem, excusing
one’s own behavior, blaming others, rejecting the therapist’s
opinion, pessimism
 Identify some empathic statements that could be used
to respond to the above types of resistance

19.  Arguing, disagreeing, challenging
 Judging, criticizing, blaming
 Warning of negative consequences.
 Seeking to persuade with logic or evidence.

20.  Interpreting or analyzing the ―reasons‖ for
resistance.
 Confronting with authority
 Using sarcasm or incredulity

21.  Simple Reflection
 Reflection with Amplification
◦ C: I don’t think I have a drinking problem.
◦ T: So as far as you can see, there really haven’t been any
problems or harm because of your drinking
 Double-sided Reflection
◦ C: But I can’t quit drinking. I mean, all of my friends drink!
◦ T: You can’t imagine how you could not drink with your
friends, and at the same time you’re worried about how it’s
affecting you

22.  Shifting focus away from the problematic issue
◦ C: But I can’t quit drinking. I mean, all of my friends
drink!
◦ T: You’re getting way ahead of things. I’m not talking
about your quitting drinking right now. Let’s just stay
with what we’re doing here and later on we can worry
about what, if anything, you want to do about your
drinking

23.  Rolling with resistance
◦ There is a paradoxical element in this, which often will
bring the client back to a balanced or opposite perspective.
◦ This is useful with clients who present in a highly
oppositional manner and seem to reject every idea
 C: But I can’t quit drinking. I mean, all of my friends drink!
 T: It may very well be that when we’re through, you’ll decide
that it’s worth it to keep on drinking. It may be too difficult
to make a change. That will be up to you.

24.  Reframing can motivate the client to deal with the behavior.
 Placing current problems in a more positive or frame,
communicates that the problem is solvable and changeable
 It is important to use the client’s own views, words, and
perceptions about drinking
◦ Drinking as a reward (alternative ways to reward oneself)
◦ Drinking as protective function—bearing too heavy of a load to
protect family (alternate ways to deal with stresses)
◦ Drinking as an adaptive function—method for avoiding
conflict, or fitting in at work

25.  Incorporate them throughout the assessment or
session
 Summarize both motivational statements and
statements of reluctance—Fair and Balanced

26.  Signs
◦ Client stops resisting and raising objections
◦ Client asks fewer questions
◦ Client appears more settled, peaceful
◦ Client makes motivational statements indicating
willingness to change
◦

27.  Shift from talking about reasons for change to
negotiating a plan for change
 Ask for clients’ perceptions of what they need to do
 Communicate free choice
◦ It’s up to you what you do about this.
◦ No one can decide this for you
 List all of the things that contribute to your
problem then identify which ones are modifiable

28.  Have clients identify how they think each
modifiable factor should be addressed

29.  Provide a rationale for why it might be a safe choice
 Nobody can guarantee a safe level of drinking
 I want to tell you, however, that I am concerned about the
possibility of your continued use because
◦ Medications
◦ Mental or Physical Health Conditions
◦ Strong external consequences (jail)
◦ Prior history of severe consequences of use
 Deal with resistance through
◦ Reflection
◦ Juxtaposition/contrasting wants

30.  The changes I want to make are…
 The most important reasons I want to make these
changes are…
 The steps I will take are…
 The ways other people can help me are…
 I will know the plan is working when…
 Some things that could interfere with my plan are…

31.  Clarify what, exactly, the client plans to do.
 Reinforce what the clients perceive to be likely benefits of
making a change, as well as the consequences of inaction.
 Ask what obstacles, concerns, fears, or doubts might
interfere with carrying out the plan. Ask the client (and SO) to
suggest how they could deal with these.
 Clarify the SO’s role in helping the client to make the change.
 Remind the client (and SO) that you will be seeing the client
for follow-up visits (scheduled at weeks 6 and 12)

32.  The Significant Other
◦ Provides an alternative point of view during the assessment
◦ Can serve a supporting function in identifying motivating
statements outside of the session
◦ Can assist in development and implementation of the plan
◦ Questions
 What has it been like for you?
 What have you noticed about [client’s] drinking?
 What has discouraged you from trying to help in the past?
 What do you see that is encouraging?
 What do you like most about ___ when he/she is not drinking

33.  Emphasis is placed on positive attempts to deal with the problem
 Negative experiences—stress, family
disorganization, employment difficulties—should be reframed as
normative in families with an alcohol problem.
 The counselor might compare the SO’s experiences to the stress
experienced by families confronted with other disorders such as
heart disease, diabetes, and depression
 The SO can discuss the risks and costs of continued drinking
 There is a danger of overwhelming or alienating clients if the
counselor and SO both present negative feedback

34.  A handwritten personalized note
◦ A ―joining message‖ (―It was wonderful meeting you and
your wife today‖)
◦ Affirmations of the client (and SO)
◦ A reflection of the seriousness of the problem
◦ A brief summary of highlights of the first
session, especially self-motivational statements that
emerged
◦ A statement of optimism and hope
◦ A reminder of the next session
◦ Write a sample note

35.  First follow-up session 1-2 weeks after initial session
 Sessions 3 and 4 are at weeks 6 and 12
 Actions
◦ Review progress and problems
◦ Renew motivation
 Review most important reasons for change)
◦ Redoing commitment (Reinforce self-efficacy)
 Control
 Commitment
 Challenge

36.  Discussed during 4th session
◦ Review and recapitulate
◦ Summarize, affirm and reinforce the commitments and
changes that have been made
◦ Explore additional areas for change the client wants to
accomplish
◦ Elicit self-motivational statements for the maintenance of
change
◦ Support client self-efficacy, emphasizing the client’s ability to
change
◦ Deal with any special problems that are evident

37.  Treatment Dissatisfaction
◦ Affirm expression of concern
◦ Explore reasons for concern
 Missed Appointments (phone contact)
◦ Clarify the reasons for the missed appointment.
◦ Affirm the client—reinforce for having come initially
◦ Express your eagerness to see the client again.
◦ Briefly mention serious concerns that emerged and your
appreciation (as appropriate) that the client is exploring these
◦ Express your optimism about the prospects for change
◦ Reschedule appointment

38.  Missed Appointments (no good explanation)
◦ Explore uncertainty about whether or not treatment is
needed (e.g., ―I don’t really have that much of a problem‖)
◦ Discuss ambivalence about making a change
◦ Empathize with frustration or anger about having to
participate in treatment
 In either case of a missed appointment, send a
handwritten note summarizing the phone call and the
new appointment

39.  Contacts should be kept brief
 Elicit, do not prescribe, change strategies
 Elicit information about what is happening
 Reflect and affirm progress
 Normalize feelings of ambivalence

40.  Can it be effectively used with co-occurring?
◦ Stages of change
◦ Self-motivational statements
◦ Strengths and solutions focused planning
◦ 12-week course
 Characteristics of appropriate patients
◦ Cognitive development
◦ Level of impairment
◦ Amount of social support
◦ Co-Occurring issues
◦ Other?

41.  MET is a 4 session evidence based practice
 It can effectively be used with any patient who is
medically and psychologically stable.
 The focus is on
◦ Eliciting self-motivational statements
◦ Exploring ambivalence
◦ Empowering the client to make positive changes
◦ Enlisting the support of significant others
◦ Encouraging continued follow through