Motivational Interviewing Flashcards
6 cards from real CBHCM practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Motivational Interviewing flashcards as text
Motivational Interviewing (MI) is best described as:
Answer: A collaborative, person-centered counseling style that elicits and strengthens a client's own motivation for change
MI is a collaborative, person-centered counseling approach developed by Miller and Rollnick. It draws out the client's own motivations for change rather than imposing reasons from the outside, and is applicable across many behavioral health conditions — not only substance use.
The acronym OARS in Motivational Interviewing stands for:
Answer: Open questions, Affirming, Reflective listening, Summarizing
OARS represents the four core MI communication skills: Open-ended questions (encourage elaboration), Affirmations (recognize client strengths), Reflective listening (demonstrate understanding), and Summarizing (link and reinforce what was shared).
In Motivational Interviewing, 'change talk' refers to:
Answer: Statements made by the client that favor moving toward change
Change talk is any client speech that expresses desire, ability, reasons, need, or commitment to change. Recognizing and selectively reinforcing change talk is a central MI skill, as research shows it predicts positive outcomes.
A case manager using MI hears a client say, 'I know I should stop drinking but I enjoy it and I'm not sure I'm ready.' The MOST appropriate MI response is:
Answer: 'It sounds like part of you recognizes a problem, while another part values what drinking does for you.'
This client is expressing ambivalence — a normal part of behavior change. The MI response reflects both sides of the ambivalence without judgment, validating the client's experience and keeping the conversation open rather than pushing for premature commitment.
Rolling with resistance in Motivational Interviewing means:
Answer: Avoiding argument and redirecting or reframing rather than confronting the client's pushback
Rolling with resistance (now called 'discord' in updated MI) means not arguing against the client's pushback. Instead, the case manager sidesteps, reframes, or reflects back the client's perspective, preserving the relationship and keeping the client engaged.
Which of the following client statements is an example of 'sustain talk' that a case manager using MI should NOT selectively reinforce?
Answer: 'I have managed fine without medication for years — I do not see why I need it now.'
Sustain talk is client speech that argues for maintaining the status quo. 'I have managed fine without medication' argues against change. MI practitioners selectively reinforce change talk while not reinforcing sustain talk, which would strengthen resistance.