Why Learn and Use Motivational Interviewing as You Master the BALM

Principle 2 tells us that Change Happens in Stages. In order to master this concept, we learn about two important models of change: Prochaska’s 6 Stages of Change Model and Miller and Rollnick’s Motivational Interviewing (MI) process. 

While the Stages of Change model provides an on-the-ground view of the process a person goes through to break a habit, Motivational Interviewing provides appropriate ways to ask questions without being invasive, shaming, or coercive. When put together, these two methods can help a family member find the right question for the right stage of change in order to help their loved one reconsider the choices they are making. 

BALM Family members can find guidelines to help with this in the handouts section of Principle Two of the BALM Family Recovery Program and in the Daily BALM interviews Bev held with Michael DeForbes and others on how to speak with your loved one in ways that will encourage movement through the stages of change on the road to recovery.

As stated above, MI provides tools and techniques to use to motivate a person to move forward in a positive direction in their life. A few important things to consider when starting a motivational conversation:

• Your job is not to coerce, convince, or manipulate your loved one to get into recovery. Rather, it is to ask questions that will empower them to go deeper into what they truly want in life.
• By building rapport and respecting their views in the very specific way you will learn through MI, you contribute to their ability to move forward.
• The different questions you ask when they are at different stages of their change process (BALM members, see ‘MI and Stages of Change Reference Guides’ in BALM Principle 2) can help you meet them where they are, rather than where you want them to be. 
• The Spirit of MI, according to Miller, can be found in its loving tone. MI applied without love is hollow.
• While MI has its place in a family’s toolbox, it doesn’t replace a BALM conversation though the two dovetail beautifully. That is why families are introduced to MI through the Principle Two lesson, its 20-30 recordings and in the 7 Steps to BALM, while there is an entire course, 7 Steps to Be A Loving Mirror, dedicated to learning the pre-, during, and post-work of how to have a loving BALM conversation. 
• MI is about helping the loved one go into self to find his or her truth. The BALM conversation is about providing the loved one with the facts their hijacked brain has been keeping them from knowing so they can wake up from their dream of addiction.

To be your loved one’s BEST chance at recovery, master the tools of the BALM including:

• BALM conversations
• Motivational Interviewing
• Stages of Change.

To increase your ability to make a difference, implement these tools in a loving tone, from an inner space of peace, without expectation or coercion. In other words, Be A Loving Mirror!

Easy? No. 

Worth it?

Without a doubt. 

To learn more about how the BALM can help your family or how YOU can help other families grow in their recovery, call us at 1-888-998-2256 ext 5 or click here.