A lot of people associate scaling questions with Motivational Interviewing!
And scaling questions are EVERYWHERE. Not just MI!
Most of us have heard this one: “What is your pain, on a scale of 0-10?”
Or, scaling questions can be used to track progress toward a goal.
We use scaling questions a little differently in Motivational Interviewing.
Scaling questions are designed to gauge motivation for change.
“How important is [the change] on a scale of 0-10, with 0 being not important at all, and 10 being the most important?”
The follow up questions you ask next are KEY.
“Why are you a ____ and not a lower number?”
Wait, why ask it that way? People usually ask why aren’t you a higher number! But asking why not a higher number is going to have the person arguing against the change, why it’s too hard right now, why they aren’t ready yet.
When you ask why not a lower number, the response you will get is the client’s motivation FOR change.
Then, reflect what you hear back to the client. (Because people become more conneted to what they hear themselves say!)
Then, you can ask a follow up question (if this one makes sense), “What might bump that number up a couple notches?” This will get folks thinking!
Confidence is the other scaling question used in MI.
Consider, when someone is contemplating change, it needs to be both important to them, and they need to feel some sense of confidence in their ability to do it.
I don’t tackle changes I don’t think I have a chance at succeeding at! Do you?
“How confident are you in your ability to make this change, on a scale of 0-10, with 0 being not confident at all and 10 being the most confident?”
Then, “And why are you a ___ and not a lower number?”
Reflect what you hear! Reflect client strengths, explore past successes. You may even ask, “What might help you bump up a couple of points to give you more confidence?” This will get them thinking too about what they will need to feel more confident about this change!
The answers to these questions often surprise me, as my assessment for people’s motivation and confidence is often off a bit! I love scaling questions because it gives a good check in for the client’s ACTUAL motivation for change!
Motivational Interviewing Tip of the Week: Consider touching base with your clients’ motivation for change using scaling questions. It’s a great chance not only to assess where they are in terms of motivation & confidence, it’s also a great way to evoke change talk!
