What are some ways to use Motivational Interviewing to promote inclusion in your healthcare team?

As an SUD social worker, I find Motivational Interviewing (MI) invaluable for promoting inclusion within healthcare teams. It encourages active listening and empathy, fostering a culture where every team member feels heard and respected. By applying MI principles, such as open-ended questioning and reflective listening, we create an environment that values diverse perspectives. This approach not only strengthens team dynamics but also enhances our collective ability to provide patient-centered care. Inclusion in healthcare is about recognizing and embracing each team member's unique contributions to our shared mission.

Inclusion within healthcare teams is a multifaceted concept that goes beyond fostering a sense of belonging. It plays a pivotal role in shaping a positive work environment, ultimately contributing to improved team performance and enhanced patient outcomes. A culture of inclusion significantly impacts the overall well-being of team members. Feeling valued and respected contributes to higher job satisfaction, creating a more positive and supportive workplace by catering for each person’s needs so everyone can feel welcomed and supported despite their difficulties.

A lot of our healthcare teams are interprofessional - there can be significant gaps in understanding as we come from various educational and professional backgrounds. MI skills allow us to bridge a lot of those gaps in understanding, as we can approach these things from a place of humility. Asking open ended questions, reflecting back our understanding and seeking to ensure there is clarity in communication helps ensure all perspectives are considered in practice not just principal. Being able to focus back on the shared vision, program goals, team values etc can help us move forward in times when decision making is especially challenging. It also invites people to share more, knowing that their perspective is going to be valued.

MI can help promote inclusion by asking open ended questions which offers the space for people to be open and share their thoughts and concerns and discuss their needs. By summarizing and reflecting, we allow clients to feel validated and understood, rather than judged. It also prevents or minimizes the bias that people might have by assuming what others may need. MI ensures that individuals express their genuine interests and discuss what truly matters to them according to what they value.

Use affirmation comments with your team members by commenting on something that is good about the person. This involves noticing, recognizing, and acknowledging the positive. It is as simple as saying: -‘You really tried this week!’ -‘Your intention was good even though it did not turn out as you would like’. -‘Look at this! You did a great job of keeping records and documentation’. -‘Thank you for coming in today, and even arriving early!’

In addition to asking open ended-questions and reflecting, a third core skill in MI is affirming: to accentuate the positive. To affirm is to recognize and acknowledge. It is also to support and encourage. It overlaps with empathy, and can serve many positive functions within helping relationships.

It is important to practice MI skills ourselves which also creates clarity. I personally do this b integrating MI skills in my journaling everyday, by asking and answering open-ended questions such as ‘what is important to me about this job’, ‘ what do i want to do in two years from now?’ , ‘what is on my mind’ , ‘ what am I feeling at this moment’. And affirming the positive by being grateful and documenting my positive feelings and small achievements.

The best way I’ve found to practice MI is the apply is to my personal life and interactions. Whether it be a phone call home or a conversation with a friend, it’s always nice to make someone else feel heard and to promote healthy communication. It can work well when integrated into self-talk or meditation, asking open-ended and introspective questions such as “why do I feel/react this way?”, or “how can I make this better?”

La entrevista motivacional (MI) es clave para promover la inclusión en equipos médicos. Más allá de lo expuesto, se puede enriquecer fomentando la diversidad en el equipo, creando un ambiente donde todos se sientan libres de expresarse y aplicando estas habilidades para revisar políticas institucionales. Esta práctica no solo fortalece la interacción entre miembros del equipo, sino que también garantiza que la inclusión sea un pilar fundamental en todas las áreas de la atención médica, desde las interacciones diarias hasta las políticas institucionales más amplias.