Are you a nutrition counselor and using MI when it seems to fit? If so, your sessions may be more effective than before you learned about MI. They can be even more effective when you make the final shift…

  We take breathing for granted; it’s there all the time. Even when we’re not paying attention at all, it’s there supporting us. It is one of the few physiological functions that is both involuntary and voluntary — we can…

  I was asked recently what to do when we hear clients criticizing themselves. What is a motivational-interviewing-consistent way of addressing this phenomenon?

The familiar phenomenon called impostor syndrome occurs when you believe that you’re inadequate and a failure in the face of evidence that you’re skilled and quite successful. At least 70% of people experience this feeling at some point.

  All clients will voice their reasons to not make changes. This is normal. It simply shows us that ambivalence is present. In Tip #101, I described sustain talk, and in #174, I explored some effective ways to respond when…

  There are many reasons to conduct nutrition counseling in a client’s home. The most obvious is that homebound patients can’t come into your office. If you work for an infusion company, you may consult in the home for TPN…

Gratitude is the feeling of appreciation for something. It emerges naturally when we are glad for something we have received. It implies acceptance.

This Tip is a continuation of a theme begun in Tip #173. Here we take a slightly different perspective.

  I am often asked how to use the effective skills and spirit of MI in brief health settings. In Tip #126, I shared a simple format based on MI called Brief Action Planning. This format keeps you focused and…

(This is a revision of Tip #83, first published in 2009) Nobody’s perfect. We have all goofed at times and regretted something that cannot be taken back. Some examples: You gave the wrong information to a client. You double-booked or…