In motivational interviewing, which question structure is used to draw out change talk by clarifying why a patient assigns a moderate importance rather than high?

In motivational interviewing, which question structure is used to draw out change talk by clarifying why a patient assigns a moderate importance rather than high?

• A. Evoking change talk
• B. Resolving ambivalence
• C. Defending the status quo
• D. Understanding the patient's perspective

Answer: (A)

Evoking change talk is the MI technique used to draw out a patient’s own reasons for change by directly exploring ambivalence and clarifying why change might be important. When someone rates the importance of changing as only moderate, you invite them to articulate their motivations, desires, and potential benefits of changing, as well as the costs of not changing. This helps transform ambivalence into concrete statements about change, increasing readiness and commitment. The broader process of resolving ambivalence underpins this, but the specific question structure that targets eliciting change talk is evoking change talk. The other options describe more general ideas (understanding perspective, or defending the status quo) or the overall goal rather than the precise technique for eliciting change talk.

Evoking change talk is the MI technique used to draw out a patient’s own reasons for change by directly exploring ambivalence and clarifying why change might be important. When someone rates the importance of changing as only moderate, you invite them to articulate their motivations, desires, and potential benefits of changing, as well as the costs of not changing. This helps transform ambivalence into concrete statements about change, increasing readiness and commitment. The broader process of resolving ambivalence underpins this, but the specific question structure that targets eliciting change talk is evoking change talk. The other options describe more general ideas (understanding perspective, or defending the status quo) or the overall goal rather than the precise technique for eliciting change talk.