Motivational Interviewing and Financial Planning – Part 2

In my MI and Financial Planning- Part 1 blog, I listed some examples of client ambivalence to illustrate how MI can be a good fit.  A financial advisor can use MI very skillfully in order to help their clients figure out what they need in order to move through their “stuckness” and achieve goals, especially financial goals.  

But what if the financial advisor tries to use MI skills in order to “convince” a client that they need financial planning or that they need to sign on with their company? Doesn’t feel so good, does it? 

There are ethical issues to always keep in mind when we are using Motivational Interviewing OARS skills (Open-ended questions, Affirmations, Reflections, Summaries). These are powerful skills and we should only use them with the Spirit of MI as the foundation. 

Remember, the spirit of MI is about Partnership, Acceptance, Empowerment, and Compassion.  It is this aspect of Compassion that tells us to always have the client’s best interest at heart. Essentially, to help the client achieve goals that they have for themselves, not the goals we may have for them.   

So, for example, a client says… “I know I need to get someone to help me with my finances. Trying to make the best decisions with my money is so stressful and confusing for me. I just don’t know what the best way is to find help.” Is MI appropriate to use?  Yes! This client has a goal they have identified as important to them but is hard to accomplish. MI can be used to help them figure it out for themselves.

 What if a client says…”I used to love the challenge of investing my money, but now that I’m getting older, it’s not so fun anymore. I’m thinking about getting someone to help me but I’m not sure if I’m ready to sign on with a financial planner.” Is there ambivalence here?  Yes!  Would it be appropriate to use MI to sway this client toward a decision?  No!  It would not be right to do so. She is unsure about what to do (ambivalence) but she hasn’t identified a goal that is important to her yet. The advisor doesn’t know where she wants to go and shouldn’t try to decide for her.

No approach is the answer to every situation every time and MI is no exception. It’s important to know when and when not to use it. To learn more about MI in Financial Planning, you can listen to me being interviewed in the episode of The Healthy Love and Money Podcast! The Power of Motivational Interviewing in Healthy Love and Money.  And here is a link to a training.

Written by Chris Miles MSW, LCSW