Motivation Stimulation Therapy: Characteristics And Uses
Many therapies consist, in most cases, of telling the patient what he or she should and should not do, hoping that he or she will decide to follow this advice or, on the contrary, continue carrying out behaviors that lead to discomfort and a of dysfunctional life.
This is not the case of motivational stimulation therapy with which the aim is to motivate a change from within the patient, that is, to make him take the reins of his life and encourage him to improve the situation in which he finds himself.
This therapy, which although it would be within clinical psychology takes knowledge from the social field and organizations, has given quite promising results with several disorders. If you want to know more about this therapy, we invite you to continue reading this article.
Motivational enhancement therapy (in English ‘motivational enhancement therapy’) is a type of directive treatment, focused on the person who is in charge of putting the focus on to increase the patient’s motivation towards change
Usually, people who carry out self-destructive behaviors, such as addictions, self-harm or risky behaviors, usually express an ambivalent motivation towards change, or none at all. Despite this, these people They are aware, in most cases, that the behaviors they are doing harm them both themselves and their immediate environment, in addition to damaging their health.
Therapists specialized in this type of therapy can help the patient achieve a more objective view of their own behavior, which can contribute to making them more prone to change on their own once the problematic behaviors are analyzed.
Historical background of this therapy
Motivational stimulation therapy was one of three interventions first applied in 1993 within the MATCH project. This American project consisted of a clinical trial focused on obtaining a better understanding and improve existing treatments in the treatment of alcoholism
This therapy is based on knowledge obtained from less clinical branches of psychology, such as organizations and coaching. Thus, motivation stimulation therapy takes aspects of human resources, such as motivational interviewing, developed by William R. Miller and Stephen Rollnick, and adapts it to the therapeutic field.
The main objective of therapy is motivate the patient to participate in their change, thus beginning the therapeutic process. Motivating him so that he can achieve his life goals and put aside or, preferably, extinguish his problematic behaviors, he will not only achieve a greater degree of well-being, but he will also move away from what was harming him and his closest environment.
In turn, as the patient sees that he is progressively capable of doing more things and that it was only a matter of making the decision to initiate the change, You will feel increasingly confident in yourself and in your ability to face adversity This is not achieved by having the therapist tell the patient what and what he should not do, but rather by providing feedback with comments that encourage him to go for what he proposes.
Motivation stimulation therapy is based on five motivational principles, which must be applied and taken into account during the treatment to guarantee the best results:
1. Express empathy
It is very important that a good professional relationship is generated between the patient and the therapist from the first therapy session. It is necessary for both parties to trust each other within what is considered therapeutically appropriate.
The patient must feel in a safe environment, in which they feel respected, listened to and accepted.
2. Develop discrepancy
The patient discusses his personal goals with the therapist The professional is in charge of measuring the distance between the goal that the patient wants to achieve and the state or situation in which he currently finds himself.
3. Avoid arguments
During therapy, there should be no discussions with the patient. At this point, we refer to discussions in the moderate sense of the word, that is, discussing negative experiences that have brought the patient to consultation.
Thus, during this brief therapy, rather than confronting the patient with the bad ways of behaving, the therapist is responsible for offering positive responses and that help the patient grow as a person.
4. Adapt to resistance
One way or another, throughout therapy aspects will appear that are resistant to change. Therapy of this type accept that there are things that cannot be overcome in such a short time ; That is why both patient and therapist must accept the existence of a little resistance.
This point may seem counterintuitive, but the truth is that it is not at all advisable to confront the patient’s resistance at the beginning, since doing so will show a whole repertoire of defensive behaviors, causing the therapy to stagnate.
5. Support self-efficacy
With self-efficacy we mean the ability of each person to cope with adversity and know how to achieve their own objectives in the most appropriate way.
In this therapy, the patient is encouraged to be aware that he or she is capable of practically anything he or she sets his mind to, including overcoming his or her addiction.
Duration and development of therapy
This therapy is usually very brief, usually lasting about four sessions. The first session is usually the interview with the patient and the next three correspond to the therapy itself.
Throughout the first session, the therapist talks to the patient about the problem that brought them to the consultation, whether it is a substance addiction problem or any other psychological disorder. Once the problem is understood, the goals that the patient wants to achieve are addressed. So, therapist and patient cooperate in planning the rest of the treatment However, always with the directive role of the professional given that he is the mental health professional. The rest of the sessions focus on achieving the objectives set.
During the establishment of the goals to be achieved, it is very important that the therapist does not make any type of confrontation with the patient nor judge him by the state he is in or what he has done in the past. The objective, as has already been said, is to improve his life, and to do so we seek to motivate him to make the change. It should also be said that during therapy it is preferred to avoid the use of diagnostic labels and focus on conceptualizing the problem in terms more understandable to the patient.
During therapy, the therapist does not give specific guidelines to the patient on what they should do to improve. The perspective behind motivational stimulation therapy is that each patient has the resources necessary to progress, what happens is that he is either not motivated enough to change or is simply not aware of the capabilities of she.
Due to its short duration and the way it is applied, this therapy is usually accompanied by the application of others. It usually serves to motivate the person before they delve into more specialized therapies depending on the types of disorders, such as those related to mood or anxiety. As we have already mentioned, motivation is a crucial aspect to ensure that the therapeutic process meets the objectives that one has set.
For what disorders is it used?
The main population group to which this therapy is applied are people who are suffering from some type of drug addiction, whether alcohol or illegal substances such as cocaine, marijuana and others. The therapist works so that the patient develops the will to confront her drug addiction.
Compared to other therapies in the area of ​​substance cessation, which are usually developed according to a step-by-step program, motivation stimulation therapy focuses on awakening the patient’s self-interest. That is, this therapy aims to make the change come from within the patient.
It should be said that One of the factors that influence its success is the patient’s own willingness to come for a consultation Normally, those who visit the therapist on a completely voluntary basis are already motivated by themselves, hoping that the professional knows what to do in order to get out of the tunnel into which drugs have put them. The therapist takes advantage of this to motivate them even more, making them see how they can control their own therapeutic process and be aware of what to do to overcome the addiction.
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in the United States, this type of therapy has been shown to be the best in terms of cost-effectiveness for the treatment of alcohol problems.
But It has not only been applied to those people who suffer from some type of addiction It has been shown to be especially useful in people who suffer from disorders such as eating disorders, anxiety problems, or even gambling. Also, according to research, it has produced results with people with the HIV virus, promoting positive changes in their lives despite having a chronic disease that, to this day, remains highly stigmatized.
