The five R’s of the MI approach.

As mentioned before in our last blog, we cover the five R's of the MI approach in this blog. Motivational Intervention is based on five principles that seem to be getting the job done!

• Relevance.

It is important for the individual to know why he or she wants to change the behavior. They should recognize the consequences and know how those consequences are relevant to them and their personal situation. Relevance is the personal aspect of the MI approach.

• Risks

Educate the individual about the risks involved with the behavior. They should be able to identify the risks to them personally as well as the risks to their family and their friends. The risks are sometimes not easy to see, and it is the job of the MI to point these out.

• Rewards

These are not the type of rewards that you might be thinking. These are internal rewards. The MI approach asks the individual to focus on why that changing the behavior will make his or her life better or how that it will make them a better person.

• Roadblocks

By knowing what kinds of things and situations that will prevent the person from achieving their goals of changing the behavior, they can prevent them. They will be more aware of these things and have devised a plan in advance to deal with these situations.

• Repetition

The MI approach wants the person to understand that it is okay to fail. It takes many attempts to make a permanent change. It is important to let the person know that they do have the strength to learn from mistakes and to try again.

University of Harvard

The MI approach is used among many types of addictions and destructive behaviors such as smoking and even overeating! Teens are particularly hard to deal with and the MI approach is working to prevent alcoholism in teens.