Overview

Not infrequently healthcare practitioners find themselves working with people who seem reluctant or ambivalent about changing a behaviour even when they have a good understanding of the harms or risks of not changing. Motivational interviewing (MI) is essentially about having helpful conversations with people about change. MI is a style of communication that pays particular attention to the language of change and is designed to strengthen personal motivation for & commitment to a specific change goal.

This one day workshop has been tailored for busy general practice clinicians and will focus on using the MI core skills when working with people with any change process in General Practice.

Learning outcomes

At the completion of this 1-day workshop participants will have:

1. developed an understanding of what motivational interviewing (MI) is
2. developed an understanding of situations in which a MI style can be used to assist people working with a potential change process
3. developed an understanding of the theoretical underpinnings and spirit of MI
4. experience of using an MI style to evoke and strengthen a client's own reasons for change

Gary Croton

Gary Croton is a Mental Health/AOD Nurse who has worked in a dual diagnosis capacity building role since 1998. In 2004 he received a Victorian Travelling Fellowship to investigate integrated treatment of mental health-substance use in the UK, USA & NZ. Gary is responsible for a range of dual diagnosis-related publications including a widely-used, suite of tools for services and workers to assess and develop their capabilities in responding to people with mental health-substance use.In 2008 Gary received the Victorian State Nursing Excellence Award for Mental Health and Drugs Nursing. Gary is a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT).