How we choose to phrase our words in speech therapy can make a difference in motivating our clients to participate and engage in the therapy process. Motivational Interviewing is a person-centered interaction style, and evidence-based for supporting change and supporting goal-setting and motivation for therapy. Have you tried motivational interviewing in speech therapy? It might be just the change you need to help discover functional needs as a team mate to the person you are working with in speech therapy.

Key Reference: MacFarlane, L. (2012). Motivational interviewing: Practical strategies for speech-language pathologists and audiologists. Canadian Journal of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, 36(1), 8-16.

Would you like some FANTASTIC examples of what exactly to say using a Motivational Interviewing technique? I’ve put it all in a PDF: