Preparatory talk
Mrs. Lopez is an 87-year-old representing the signs of depression and suicidal thoughts after losing her husband. She is demonstrating no signs in recreational activities and refusing to take her medications. There are at least three strategies that can be sued to evoke a change talk. The first strategy is to use the importance ruler by asking Mrs. Lopez to rate how important it is for her to participate in daily recreational activities and then using the sustain talk (Miller & Rollnick, 2013). This method may demonstrate the importance of these activities and promote change in the service user (Miller & Rollnick, 2013). The second strategy is querying about the extremes by asking Mrs. Lopez what changes will happen if she continues to refuse to take her medication. Such a talk can help to emphasize the importance of taking the medications and set up a change talk that will demonstrate the best consequences of the desired behavior (Miller & Rollnick, 2013).
Finally, asking Mrs. Lopez to look back at times when her husband was still with her is an appropriate method for evoking change (Miller & Rollnick, 2013). It will help the service receiver to observe the changes that have happened and possibly evoke the desire to change. In general, I would utilize preparatory talk, as the service user does not yet demonstrate any desire, ability, reason, or need to change. Thus, I would try to appeal to the desired change using preparatory talk, as I believe that the service user needs a desire to live, as currently, she expresses no such will. After that, a mobilizing change talk can be used.
Role Play Exercise
In Week 6, a talk of a practitioner with Michael’s mother was demonstrated. The mother expressed concern that Michael was overly secretive and started to spend time with an unfavorable company of people. Moreover, the boy was found to be smoking marijuana, which serves as the central reason for his mother to contact human service providers. As an advanced human service practitioner, I would suggest using three general strategies for evoking a change talk. First, I start talking about Michael’s goals and values (Miller & Rollnick, 2013). In particular, I would ask a broad, open-ended question, such as “What do you value the most in life?” If Michael had difficulties replying to the questions, I would narrow the question to “What qualities do you respect in people?” Such a question would let me set up the change talk by assessing if Michael has all the qualities he respects and what needs to be done to get such qualities. This question will also help to reinforce change in the future.
Second, I would ask about the future, which is a crucial strategy for revealing the need to change. I would ask, “What will happen to you if you continue to smoke marijuana and spend time with your friend in two years?” This question will also overlap with the strategy for identifying the extremes to demonstrate the importance of change (Miller & Rollnick, 2013). The method of talking about the future is important, as children at this age are capable of reflecting on future events and the majority of them are sure that everything will turn out favorable for them. However, with little consideration, they may understand that the future may not be as bright as they think.
Finally, I would use the importance ruler to demonstrate the importance of trust within the family. I would ask, “How do you value trust inside the family between 0 and 10?” After that, I will use a sustain talk to explore why the score was not lower. This exercise strategy will help Michael to understand that family is still important to him, maybe even more than his friends.
References
Miller, W., & Rollnick, S. (2013). Motivational interviewing (3rd ed.). The Guilford Press.