I know this is a sticky subject! And it is with much thought that I decided to weigh in here.
I want to start this post with a reminder that embedded in Motivational Interviewing SPIRIT is honoring client autonomy.
Our clients have the ultimate right to choose.
So in honoring their autonomy and right to choose, this is not about manipulating or convincing clients to get vaccines.
It is about how to have effective conversations with clients who are hesitant to take this step.
We know that when someone is ambivalent about change, arguing for change is not likely to work.
Using MI, we can have an exploratory conversation with clients around their ambivalence, share information, and respect choice.
It can feel crazy making when, as a provider, we have research and data, strong opinions, and our clients just won’t follow our advice. (This goes for so many different health choices- not just vaccine conversations!)
We have been trained to give information, research, and data.
But we struggle with how to effectively navigate our clients’ ambivalence.
Motivational Interviewing gives us concrete and effective tools at navigating client ambivalence.
And I have FOUR awesome resources for you related to vaccine conversations with clients- if you’d like!
- I loved this NY Times opinion piece by Gagneur & Tamerius. Here is the link. In this article, you actually can chat with a bot to learn a few effective tools using MI. I tried it. Takes less than 5 minutes and gives some good tips! (Free!)
- FREE podcast episode about this very topic! Here is the link to the Talking to Change podcast episode.
- Co-creator of MI, Steven Rollnick, offers a training on using MI for these very conversations. There are bunches of resources in his course to increase efficacy in these tough conversations! Here is the link! (Low cost!)
- And finally, MINT trainer Joel Porter and Steven Rollnick have a robust conversation with experts in vaccinology, diabetes, Motivational Interviewing and general medicine on vaccinations, ambivalence and hesitancy. There is a MI demonstration of how to approach the topic and questions from the audience in this episode. Here is that link! (Free!)
Motivational Interviewing Tip of the Week: As a reminder for all of us- vaccine conversations or not- when we have strong opinions, research, data, evidence- it can be all the more difficult to respect and honor client autonomy. The most effective way to explore client ambivalence is to be curious, evoke and reflect, ask permission before offering information, and sometimes even say out loud, “Whatever you decide to you, is totally up to you.”
Have a great week!
Sincerely,
Hillary Bolter, MSW, LCSW
Member, Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers
