Motivational Interviewing: Building Motivation for Change in Legal Aid Clients

Where: The Chicago Bar Association, 5th Floor (in person)

When: Thursday, December 4 from 3:00-5:00 PM

Instructors: Alyssa Fatigato, LCSW

Who Should Attend:
Staff members who engage in direct representation of clients

Why You Should Attend:
We’ve all been there: a client misses a meeting, fails to send necessary documents, or does not uphold their end of a hard-fought settlement agreement. As legal aid providers, we understand that our clients have a lot going on in their lives, but also struggle with the reality that inadequate client participation and follow-through can make our jobs difficult, if not impossible.

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is an evidence-based practice often used by social workers and mental health providers to engage individuals in their own care. This person-centered, goal-directed counseling method seeks to resolve client ambivalence and promote positive change by eliciting and strengthening the person’s own motivation for change. This training will lay the foundations of motivational interviewing then give participants the opportunity to practice new techniques using examples and hypotheticals specific to legal aid clients.

What You Will Learn:

• Objective 1: Gain an understanding of the foundations of motivational interviewing, including the spirit of MI, the OARS skills, and the four processes.
• Objective 2: Practice concrete, takeaway MI skills, such as OARS skills, in large and small groups.
• Objective 3: Analyze examples, including examples given by the audience, to simultaneously learn and practice the spirit of MI in building motivation for change