Welcome to the simulation titled Family Counseling: Childhood Nutrition. This is a transcript of the simulation designed for screen readers. This simulation is designed to help you learn motivational interviewing (MI) techniques to engage families in difficult conversations related to childhood obesity and nutrition. Watch a health coach practice relationship-centered communication to elicit parents’ concerns, identify and amplify their reasons for change, and collaborate on an achievable plan for change.
Pic 0: A woman in scrubs appears in front of a blue background.
Eva: Many aspects of a client’s health have less to do with medicine than with behavior, things like eating well or exercising.
Yet, when it comes to behavior change, it can be a struggle for clients to stick with their provider’s advice! So how do we encourage clients to make healthier choices in the limited time we have with them?
Pic 1: An image of a figure with a name tag appears with a word bubble above its head with an information symbol inside. A plus sign appears, and then another image next to the plus sign of a mountain with a flag on top.
Researchers have found that one answer lies in a different approach. Most people don’t just need information, they need motivation.
Pic 2: The words “Motivational Interviewing” appear next to her. The capital ‘M’ and ‘I’ are highlighted, and as the rest of the letters disappear they come together in the middle to form “MI,” next to which the word “Techniques” appears. The image of a health coach appears again in a black circle. Another figure, a client, in a white circle appears next to it with a thought bubble above its head that reads “Reasons for change.” The thought bubble turns blue and the text inside changes to “Plans for change.”
I’m Eva Lewis, and I’ve recently learned a new way to motivate clients to stick with healthy lifestyle changes, a counseling style called Motivational Interviewing, or MI. Using MI techniques, any healthcare professional can guide clients to recognize their own reasons for change, which can motivate them to commit to plans for change.
But it’s been a challenge to change how I talk with clients! To help health coaches like you and me, we created this series of simulated conversations.
Pic 3: The figures and text disappear and the blank background becomes an exam room. A man and a woman appear on chairs in the background. Each person waves.
In these conversations, you’ll watch virtual health coaches
Today you’ll observe virtual health coaches interact with virtual clients and families who are making large decisions about their health. But before we start, let’s take a closer look at MI.
Pic 4: The scene and Eva disappears and the screen changes to a two-color split background with a white circle in the middle with text that reads “What is MI?” The circle disappears and is replaced a rectangle with an emoticon of two word bubbles and the text “Conversation” on one side and a rectangle with an image of a notebook with “RX” written on it and the text “Prescription.”
While there are many MI techniques you can master, the overall approach is simple: MI treats decisions about change as a conversation, not a prescription.
Pic 5: Everything slides off-screen except the “Conversation” rectangle which is pulled to the middle. A circle appears below it, with a list with a grey check mark next to each item