Resilience and Motivational Interviewing: Building Readiness for Change

How motivational interviewing approaches Resilience — resolving ambivalence and building motivation for recovery.

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is particularly valuable for resilience when ambivalence about change is blocking recovery.

Ambivalence in Resilience

People with resilience are often ambivalent about change — part wants relief, part fears the unknown of being without familiar resilience patterns. This is normal, not resistance.

How MI Addresses Resilience Ambivalence

MI uses specific techniques to help people explore and resolve their ambivalence about resilience treatment:

  • Reflective listening: Hearing and naming both sides of resilience ambivalence
  • Decisional balance: Exploring pros and cons of changing vs. staying the same with resilience
  • Evoking change talk: Drawing out the person's own reasons for addressing resilience
  • Affirming strengths: Highlighting past capacities relevant to resilience recovery

MI in Resilience Treatment Settings

MI is integrated into many resilience treatment approaches as an engagement tool. It's particularly useful at the beginning of treatment and when motivation fluctuates.

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