Module 4: Evoking – Summaries
Summaries
Offering the woman summaries throughout a motivational interview is a great way to recap on what’s already been discussed, especially when you are summarising the woman's change talk as she gets to hear it again! It can also help you connect different parts of the conversation and support the woman when it’s time to progress to the next topic of discussion.
There are three types of summaries that are useful in MI:
- Collecting
- Transitional
- Linking
Watch Dr Steindl talk through these three types of summaries.
Summaries are also useful for you as a health practitioner to take stock of what key points have been made by the woman and where you should guide the conversation to enable change talk.
Role play – Evoking ability change talk
While you watch, notice how the practitioner uses summaries to evoke ability change talk from Sarah.
At the beginning of the clip, the practitioner summarised all of Sarah’s change talk to bring it to the top of her mind. This sets the scene for evoking ability change talk because she’s just heard her desire, need and reasons change talk. So, when the practitioner asks Sarah how she would go about changing, her previous change talk is helping to guide her. And throughout this part of the conversation, the practitioner uses reflections and affirmations to help build Sarah’s confidence around her ability to commit to change.
This technique is applicable for conversations we have with First Nations women relating to strategies for managing psychosocial issues that may emerge when undertaking mental health screening, including referrals for additional supports.
