Stephen's Blog

Things happened.  There was lots of action, reaction, years of it, a poor outcome, and how much listening took place? If a governing body, coach or captain meets a problem with a player, the initial responsibility lies with them to repair the damage.  Skillful listening can go a long way. How much of the following went on?  A person behaves in a way that’s hard for others to accept. Happens every day.  The person gets

What are helpful conversations like for elite sportspeople?   Here’s Andy Murray unpacking the limitations of “macho talk”: “I’ve found it difficult to open up sometimes as you feel judged or that it’s seen as a sign of weakness. Sometimes, when we’re competing and working out, trying to be macho, it can get a bit testosterone-fuelled. I’ve ended up having some big arguments.  I don’t feel like I’m competing with Amelie (his female coach). When

That’s a very lofty title for a report.  My apologies. It arises from frustration. I have lost count of the number of enquiries I’ve had like this: can motivational interviewing be used for our patients/clients who have this condition or that problem? I was at a large meeting in Stockholm about sexual health, another about asthma, then another around sickness benefit applicants, and the same old question raised its head: can motivational interviewing be used

I got asked it again, in public.  “Are some people born unable to listen?”. My brain has been bent with this kind of question countless times in public exchanges, when I always seem to stumble for a simple, clear answer.  “Why cant some of my students grasp the value of listening?”; “Why do those doctors seem like they were born unable to empathize?” or the worst of all, “Is the ability to listen genetically inherited

Check this reply from friend about my desperately unsuccessful attempt to ride 6ft waves in Hong Kong: “Will you stop your moaning, you winging old fart. Commit to going to the pool and you are more than half way there. Work on the core at home and you will be back before you know it. As I am a fitness manager I can pop over and show you the way to eternal happiness in the

A Ramble Through MI Here is a talk i gave at the 3rd ISMI conference (International Symposium on MI) in Melbourne in May 2013. It was designed to stimulate creative thinking at the start of the day…… #mi #motivational interviewing #Stephen Rollnick

A Ramble Through MI Here is a talk i gave at the 3rd ISMI conference (International Symposium on MI) in Melbourne in May 2013. It was designed to stimulate creative thinking at the start of the day…… #mi #motivational interviewing #Stephen Rollnick

Schools and MI are fundamentally concerned with growth and change, so its something of a puzzle why it has taken so long for the use of MI to be explored in this setting. I visited Harper High School in South Chicago, a majestic old building in a neighborhood facing grinding poverty, violence and collapse. There are as many abandoned or destroyed homes as there are living ones. Harper High has received its share of troubles,

I am writing a book on MI in schools, for teachers, and had the experience, for the first time, of receiving a teacher who had registered for one of my Cardiff workshops. Quite why I and others came so late to the potential of MI in this setting is an interesting question. The synergy is almost complete, with both education and MI being about growth and change. I asked workshop participants to mail me the

I gave this talk at a large conference 30th October about the need for people to improve their lifestyles, and tried to do something I’ve avoided for some time – traverse the world of the consulting room and see what can be taken over into public health efforts. Not sure I succeeded, but it’s a start. You can find the talk and slides here: http://steverollnick.wpengine.com/healthy-ageing-conference-2014.php #motivational interviewing  #mi #behavior change #public health #Stephen Rollnick

People are being invited into primary care for health checks in many parts of the United Kingdom. The people delivering them come from diverse backgrounds. Some are nurses, others are not in a clinical profession. Not all the patients are easy to interview. I ran a workshop in England and they asked me to demonstrate rapid engagement, just the first few minutes of the interview. I did this with a simulated patient, “Henry” whom I

If ever there was a field where conversation is used to promote change its this one, and its here too where yelling and instructing to motivate people reaches unimaginable heights. Passionate, yes? Effective, ehm….. sometimes. If it is well-timed, and the coach has a good relationship with a player, instructing can work very well. Then there are other ways of talking about and promoting change that are more subtle, about unlocking potential, a far cry

Video Excerpt of “Traps, Troubles & Communication Styles in Motivational Interviewing” seminar with Stephen Rollnick, CMI PESI Continuing Education. April, 2012. #mi #motivational interviewing #stephen rollnick #health communication

Stephen Rollnick MI presentation for MPS Feb2013 #mi #motivational interviewing #Stephen Rollnick

There’s a TV documentary in two episodes called The Class of 92 about a football club taken over by celebrity ex-players, and its journey from a lower level to a higher one. They sack the coach and appoint two new ones, who have a firm and clear approach to the task at hand. Ashley was told to leave. The club and the team clearly meant a lot to him, and he arrived in his kit

These three short blogs were originally written for www.sportscoachuk.org. I put them together here for a slightly longer read. Empathy: 1. Beyond Lip Service I’m a clinical psychologist and even inside my psychology orbit I hear colleagues talking about the importance of empathy in a hollow way. I imagine the sporting world might also be vulnerable. Words and phrases are no doubt exchanged in meetings, pasted on walls, and “empathy” and “good relationships” might appear