While humans are creatures of habit, not all the habits we develop are healthy. However, if you have ever tried to change long-held behavioral patterns, you know how challenging it can be – especially when you aren’t fully committed to doing so. That’s what makes an individual counseling technique called motivational interviewing so beneficial.
What Is Motivational Therapy?
Many people with substance use disorders lack the internal drive to stop drinking or using for several reasons. Perhaps you’re in denial about the severity of your problems, or you are afraid to get help because you worry about facing stigma or don’t want to put in the work involved to sustain sobriety.
Motivational therapy, also known as motivational interviewing, encourages people to reach within themselves and find the spark they need to make specific changes in their lives. Anyone who is reluctant to try something new could benefit from this treatment approach, which begins from a place of acceptance that it can be difficult to make healthy choices.
How Does Motivational Interviewing Work?
If your previous attempts to set goals and find renewed passion for self-improvement have not succeeded the way you wanted, motivational interviewing could provide the impetus you need. If the word “interview” makes you feel anxious, it may help you to picture motivational therapy as a friendly one-on-one talk about your objectives and what you want to do better.
A therapist who specializes in motivational therapy will ask you questions and use active listening skills to encourage you to commit to choices that feel attainable, thus kindling the desire to follow through with them. When doing motivational interviewing, a counselor’s goal is not to convince you to conform to someone else’s idea of appropriate behavior, but to make choices that are in your best interest.
Examples of open-ended questions you might hear during motivational therapy include:
- “How would you like to improve your life?”
- “How does substance abuse prevent you from doing the things you’d like to do?”
Make a Fresh Start at New Found Life
If you know in your heart that you have a problem with drugs or alcohol and have already faced several negative consequences, what’s holding you back from quitting? The idea of giving up the crutch you use to get through life can be intimidating, ultimately resulting in a lack of true motivation to get sober. Or, maybe you feel like sobriety is not attainable because you aren’t ready to quit using or drinking.
As part of your customized treatment plan, individual counseling can help you overcome your fears, uncertainty or ambivalence, fostering your ambition to get sober and take the first steps on your road to recovery. At New Found Life, we offer a complete continuum of care to help our clients regain their physical, emotional and mental health. We understand how difficult it can be to ask for help, but we are here to take your call 24/7.