36
|
Volume1 Issue2
S
upporting
Y
our
P
ractice
As adentist, Iwant thebest oral
health formypatients. Inother
words, Iwant toprevent andelim-
inateoral disease. If I canencour-
agemypatients toadopt positive
behaviours, I can thenconsider
myself successful inpreventingand
eliminatingoral disease. As youare
well aware, it isnot that simple to
motivatepatients tochange their
habitual behaviours, evenwhen
they learnabout thedamage it
causes to their health. Ambivalence
tochange is common. On theone
hand, thepatient knows that they
need tochange, but on theother
hand, theyarecomfortableand set
in theirways. Traditionally, thishas
led thecounsellor or clinician to
givedirect adviceas theauthor-
itativeexpert in their field. And,
most often, this typeof advice lead
topatient’s resistanceand lackof
change, because thepatientwould
defend their ambivalence.
The stubbornness, evasiveness and
anger that ensuedwas theopposite
of thedesired result. This has led cli-
nicians intoanareaof researchwithin
psychology which has been shown
to increase the likelihood of elicit-
ing positive behavioural change.
Motivational Interviewing addresses
the common problem of ambiva-
lence about behaviour change and
honours people’s autonomy and
self-determination to make their
own choices. MI is a person-cen-
tered, goal-oriented, collaborative
conversation intended tostrengthen
aperson’sownmotivationandcom-
mitment tochange. This is the intent
of MI: the cliniciandoes not impose
change, but supports change con-
gruentwith thepatient’sownvalues
andconcerns.
The following article originally appeared on the
Oasis Discussions
website in the “Viewfrom theChairside” section.
This site answers your clinical questions, discusses issues related to the
profession,voicesdentists’ experiences, toucheson thebusinessofdentistry
and showcases innovations in thedental industry.
Picture this:
A patientwalks into to yourdental office, and
before you even pickup the drill or carry out an injection, a
conversation takes place that leads your patient toa lifetime
of optimal oral health.What just happened?How coulda
simple conversation change your patient’s life so positively?
Iwould like to introduce you toMotivational Interviewing
(MI), its purpose, its techniques, andhow you can elicit a
positive behavioural change in your patients.
OasisDiscussions
IUSEMOTIVATIONAL INTERVIEWING,
DOYOU?
RichardK.Anderson
Dr. Anderson is a
practising general
dentist inOttawa.
He graduatedfrom
The SchulichSchool of
Medicine andDentistry
atWesternUniversity
in2008.He is involved
with theOttawaDental
Society andvolunteers
with theOttawaMission
DentalClinic.
