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Empowering Your Patients

In the video below, family physician Amaryllis Sánchez Wohlever, MD, explains how motivational interviewing empowers patients to find their own motivation for moving forward.

Reprinted with permission from:
Amaryllis Sanchez Wohlever, MD
Coach for Physicians
Wellness, leadership, burnout recovery/prevention
Author. Medical Editor.
Board-certified Family Physician
Website: www.faithfulMD.wordpress.com
e-mail: faithfulMD@gmail.com

  • Acknowledge their right to choose change (or not) Guiding communication style
  • Starts with relationship, empathy
  • Invites people to:
    • Consider their situation
    • Find their own solutions, motivation
  • Helping people
    • Believe they can do it
    • See beyond current reality
    • Be stronger than their excuses
  • Gently guiding them to verbalize
    • Their goals, motivators, strengths, obstacles
    • Their past successes & how they overcame
    • Why change is needed & how it will help

One Technique

  • Open-ended questions
  • Affirmations (empathy expressed}
  • Reflective listening
  • Summaries

Practice with your family and friends!

Set a goal that makes you want to jump out of bed in the morning.

Creating Intention

  • Stages of Change
  • Pre-contemplation
  • Contemplation
  • Preparation
  • Action
  • Maintenance
  • Our goal: gently guide them toward next stage
  • Information vs. self-efficacy
  • Medical model vs. coaching model
  • Create discrepancy
  • Roll with resistance

Words Have Power

  • What you say
  • How it is received
  • How you say it