Motivational interviewing can be an essential form of assistance to those recovering from addiction or other mental health conditions. It’s difficult to self-motivate, especially when you feel like you can’t make meaningful changes. Self-motivation, however, is a skill that anyone can learn and practice with assistance. This is especially true when a professional can help you bolster your confidence and self-esteem.
That’s why motivational interviewing is used at Driftwood Recovery to assist in recovery. It’s particularly useful for those who are struggling with the concept of change itself. This is either because they are afraid of change, don’t understand the value of change, or need help accepting change. Change can be scary, especially when you feel powerless in the face of addiction. Utilizing motivational interviewing returns power to the individual, which allows you to face treatment with the courage to change.
Motivational interviewing on paper sounds straightforward, but there are important distinctions that set it apart from simple talking. Understanding what makes this technique so flexible and distinct can help you prepare to engage with this essential technique.
A Basic Overview of Motivational Interviewing
Motivational interviewing is similar to psychotherapy, or “talk” therapy, where a treatment provider and a client sit together to talk. The goal of this is to, at its core, facilitate healthy life changes. This could mean many things, such as identifying the cause of why you may be reluctant to make changes, to creating goals. For the most part, you will talk while your provider listens.
The role of the provider is to allow you to come to conclusions and gain insight yourself. They may guide and help through techniques like asking open questions or affirming your efforts. The provider will not, however, give you unsolicited advice, instructions, or warnings. Think of it as a guided style of communication to allows you to empower yourself. The provider is here to help you, but many revelations come about through personal introspection and reflection.
Motivational interviewing is often used in addiction treatment, but it’s also commonly used by those with chronic health conditions that require life changes to be made. A good example of which is diabetes. This technique not only empowers people to make changes, but it also reduces the pain and fear of doing so. Part of self-motivation is also finding your inner courage and self-love. Motivational interviewing is often used to prepare you for other, more specific forms of therapy.
How Can Motivational Interviewing Help Me Meet My Goals?
Motivational interviewing helps you find insight about yourself that can prevent you from making and meeting goals in recovery. Some of the questions that motivational interviewing encourages you to ask yourself are:
- Why am I afraid of making changes?
- Am I afraid of change, or am I engaging in active self-sabotage?
- Is there something in my past that is holding me back from making changes?
- Do I feel ready to make changes, and if so, what will it take for me to be ready?
- Is there a toxic influence in my life that is encouraging me not to make healthy changes?
Once you can address these questions, it’s time to formulate some goals. At this time, your provider can help you make these goals, should you need help. Now, it’s creating steps to help you meet your goals. It’s important not to set goals that are too “big” at first. Big goals take time to meet, and failure can be demoralizing. Instead, you can break down a big goal into smaller goals or steps. By utilizing this method, change feels less scary and more approachable.
The Driftwood Recovery Approach
Choosing Driftwood Recovery means choosing a treatment facility that values understanding, compassion, and healing. These values are a core part of all treatment at Driftwood Recovery, ensuring that each client will leave treatment as healthier and happier individuals. Motivational interviewing is no different, as it is a tool often used to empower and uplift those who need it.
For example, removing toxic people from your life is an essential step for lasting recovery. However, taking this step can be very difficult, and many are reluctant to make this change. Driftwood Recovery will use motivational interviewing to help you identify the underlying reluctance that prevents you from making this change. Then, you find reasons to self-motivate to fuel the change.
In this example, a person may be afraid to cut out a toxic individual because they fear being alone. They may have formed a co-dependent relationship and don’t know how to break free. Discovering this through motivational interviewing allows this individual to get further help to remove this toxicity. Then, it’s building them up by helping them establish a sense of self-love and courage. They will learn that they, much like you, deserve healthy and loving relationships. This empowers them to make the change to forge new friendships with people who care about them. As such, great personal changes are made that help ensure lasting recovery.
Having a robust and comprehensive individualized treatment plan for each client means that motivational interviewing can easily complement other therapies as needed. Not everyone will need motivational interviewing, especially if they are self-driven enough. But for those who need extra help in meeting their goals, it’s an established and helpful tool to facilitate real and lasting changes – changes that can change your life, as long as you are willing to accept the help to make.
If you are having difficulty finding the motivation to make healthy life changes, motivational interviewing can help. Being able to self-motivate is critical when tackling serious issues like addiction and other mental health conditions. However, self-motivation is a skill that needs to be learned and practiced. That’s why at Driftwood Recovery in Driftwood and Austin, Texas, clients gain the opportunity to take a look at themselves through motivational interviewing. Utilizing techniques such as motivational interviewing allows you and your loved ones who are struggling to achieve a successful recovery when part of a comprehensive treatment plan. If you are finding it difficult to take the first step toward recovery, don’t wait. Call (512) 759-8330 today.