Motivational Interviewing and Exploring Ambivalence Towards Changing Addicted Lifestyles

Motivational interviewing presents a good way to approach the work of counseling drug addicts through assisting them make decisions to change from their lifestyles, but under a stepwise process that allows them to adapt to a new life. To avoid pushing hard on the addict, it is worth noting that a person cannot change from the addicted lifestyle to a normal life in a short time. It is important to note that first, the person will have no sense of a problem, and seems to avoid a situation in which he or she will see taking drugs as a problem. The person is in a stage of contemplation and does not consider change as a remedy to his or her life. This is the most difficult point in counseling, as it may involve provoking the person in a manner that will allow him or perceive life as a problem and consider changing. To ensure this, it is important for the counselor to provide the addict with information regarding his or her situation, the perceptions of the other people and the need for self-efficacy. They should motivate the addicts to consider importance and self-efficacy, where importance comes as a result of noting what an addict places on changing, while self-efficacy comes about as a belief or confidence that the addict has the ability to change. When the counselor applies these two points of motivation, it is possible to motivate the addicts to change, while at the same time avoid pushing hard on them.