Motivational Interviewing and Financial Planning part 1

Motivational Interviewing and Financial Planning?  Humm…not a field you may have thought of where MI can be used. Typically, MI is discussed with mental health and social service providers, but, MI is applicable in any conversation where someone is ambivalent regarding a goal that is important to them.

Remember, Rollnick and MIller explain Motivational Interviewing as “ a particular way of talking with people about change and growth to strengthen their own motivation and commitment” It is a conversation and we can have conversations in all kinds of settings.

Ambivalence, by definition, is “the state of having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone.”  We struggle with ambivalence all the time, every day, so it will come up in all kinds of areas of our lives. 

Some example of ambivalence in financial planning may be:

A client is struggling with debt and wants to figure a way out. They haven’t learned good budgeting skills and lack confidence. 

An individual realizes that they need to have money for retirement, but they tend to spend all their extra income on travel leaving nothing left for investments.

A couple has investments and they are stressed out every time the stock market negatively impacts their savings. It’s a chalnge for them to let go of the constant worry.

A newly divorced mom knows, financially, she must sell her large home now that her children are grown, but it’s hard to let go of the place that holds so many memories.

Lots of ambivalence here!! Lots of opportunities to use Motivational Interviewing!

If you would like to learn more about how MI can be used in the field of Financial Planning, hop on and listen to my interview with Ed Coambs 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.

MI and Financial Planning Part 2 to follow!

Written by Chris Miles MSW, LCSW