OQ stands for Open-ended Questions in Motivational Interviewing.
And today, we are going to go beyond just OQs and talk about WHAT kind of OQ’s we use…
OQ’s are the first of the O.A.R.S. skills- the microskills of Motivational Interviewing.
(Open-ended questions, Affirmations, Reflections, and Summaries).
What’s an OQ?
Well, it’s a question that elicits more than a one word response. A CQ is a close-ended question (elicits one-word responses).
CQ: “Are you having a good day?”
OQ: “How are you doing today?”
CQ: “Do you have your COVID vaccination yet?”
OQ: “What are your thoughts on the vaccine for yourself?”
Feel the difference?
Why bother opening our questions? For one, we evoke more information! We relay our curiosity in learning more!
AND…
Not only are we opening questions, we are targeting in WHAT we elicit through our questions.
MI is a guiding style of communication, designed to help someone resolve their ambivalence about change. So, as we guide clients in change conversations, our questions target Change Talk.
CHANGE TALK. Simply put, the clients arguments for change.
The Change Talk acronym in MI is DARN-CAT.
DARN gets at the WHY CHANGE question for clients. It is preparatory change language. DARN: Desire, Ability, Reason, Need. And these questions help you evoke that change talk! Because, the more people talk about change, the more likely they ARE to change!
CAT is mobilizing change talk that indicates the action stage of change.
Motivational Interviewing Tip of the Week: Practice opening those closed questions! Sentence stems like “Tell me…” “What…” “How…” tend to open up those CQs! Next, consider what kind of language you are eliciting when asking questions. Do you tend to evoke the barriers to change? Try instead to focus on Change Talk, which makes change more likely!
Let me know how it goes!
