Background
Behaviour change toward achieving a healthy lifestyle is important
for all Australians, and general practitioners have a key role to play in
assisting patients to make these changes.
Objective
This is the second of two articles on influencing behaviour change in
general practice. This article deals with the ‘how to’ of motivational
interviewing in the general practice setting.
Discussion
Motivational interviewing can help build motivation, commitment and
confidence to change. General practitioners can use motivational
interviewing to help their patients achieve their health goals.
Motivational interviewing is not about a set of techniques and
questions; it is about creating a climate that facilitates change; it
is more about listening than telling, evoking rather than instilling.
Motivational interviewing can be done in the brief periods available in
consultations over time.
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