Blog Archives

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CRISIS- What I have control over Check out this MI minute on the CRISIS-what I have control over ...
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5 Intentions In the MICA (Motivational Interviewing Competency Assessment) we review the 5 intentions that should be embodied when doing Motivational Interviewing ...
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Have you ever noticed that in stressful times, communication sometimes goes awry?  Whether it’s you communicating or someone is trying to communicate to you-things just don’t compute as well. Well there is science behind that.  In times of stress, our executive functioning skills decrease.  That is our ability to think, process and effectively communicate, because in stress or times of crisis we tend to go into fight or flight mode.  We are no longer thinking long term, we are no longer thinking about a process, or steps to accomplish something, we are in flight or fight mode and only thinking of 1 thing at a time: Safety.  Whether that’s physical safety, emotional safety, financial safety-our ability to think and process isn’t there because we are searching and reacting as to how to get back to feeling safe. So you might ask, how can we better communicate during this time period?  ...
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Crisis-How to help Check out this short MI minute on how to help people during a crisis ...
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Personal Agency Curious about what Personal agency is? In this short #MIMINUTE Casey answers that! Check it out! ...
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Coding & Coaching Check out this short #MIMINUTE on coding and coaching, for those that want to become proficient in the skill set of Motivational Interviewing! ...
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Physics of Communication Have you ever been in a conversation where it took a turn for the worse and you later looked back and said…”Oh shoot, I knew I shouldn’t have said X”? Welcome to the physics of Communication, a topic we here at IFIOC often talk about and discuss in our training for Communication skills and Motivational Interviewing. First lets look at the definition of Physics. According to Merriam-Webster.com, they define Physics as: a science that deals with matter and energy and their interactions. Energy and their interactions, do you think when we communicate we are measuring energy and the interaction? Why yes! Each time we are in a conversation, we are in microseconds measuring the tone of voice, the intent behind the words, the words themselves, the body language and eye contact and putting that all together to formulate what that entire communication was really about. So when ...
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Check out this #MIminute on what happens in a CRISIS to our executive functioning abilities ...
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Supporting Strengths. Check out this short #MIMINUTE video on Supporting strengths! ...
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Compliance & Behavior change This MI Minute is all about understanding compliance and behavior change-how to create long lasting sustained behavior change! ...
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Acronyms and Motivational Interviewing. What about all those Motivational Interviewing Acronyms? Check out this short MI minute on the acronyms and MI! ...
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Executive Functioning Have you ever struggled with getting from point A to point B?  Maybe you are REALLY struggling, and slightly avoiding losing weight, or getting into shape and you keep starting at point A, but never make it to point B. Sound familiar? Your ability to make decisions, plan accordingly and manage tasks to get where you want to go is part of our Executive Functioning capabilities.  Now, stress can impact executive functioning, as well as trauma, so even though you might have very strong Executive Functioning skills, on occasion due to outside elements you might notice your ability to make decisions and get to where you want to go are a bit more difficult than normal. Lets look at the definition of Executive Functioning according to dictionary.com Executive Functioning: a set of cognitive skills used to control one’s thoughts and behavior, especially the skills needed to focus on ...
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Using Motivational Interviewing skills with family This short MI minute is all about answering the question, can I use my skills with family? Casey has some great points to pay attention to on this one! ...
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Check out this short MI Minute on Executive functioning! ...
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The Rainbow sheet! If you haven't seen this sheet before, it is used in our in person trainings. Casey explains how to read and use this sheet as you practice and work on your Motivational Interviewing skills ...
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Values based Communication How often do you think about your values when communicating with a loved one?  What are common/typical values?  When you make decisions, or you help a loved one make decisions, how often do either of you think about your personal values and how those decisions align with those values? In a fast paced, busy world it’s common for individuals to not think about their values or communicate using their values as things move so quickly.  But what would decisions, what would life, how would we feel to think about our values each time we made a decision? Today, this newsletter is all about exploring how we can communicate using values, as well as individually think about our values more often! First, lets talk about some common values: Independence Quality of Life Autonomy Freedom Accomplishment Stability Peace Security Wisdom Contribution Connection Fulfillment Integrity Respect Loyalty Legacy Fairness As ...
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When can I share my expertise in Motivational Interviewing? We all have that urge, knowing the person we are talking to wants answers, and we have those answers in our heads-because we have the expertise!  So when during Motivational Interviewing, can we share that?  This MI minute is all about that! ...
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Partnership vs. Relationship Check out this MI minute on understanding the difference between partnership in a conversation and relationship ...
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Verbal Interventions What are verbal interventions in Motivational Interviewing? ...
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