Using motivational interviewing to engage adolescents and young adults with diabetes

Abstract For young people trying to keep diabetes under control the behaviours can appear simple; e.g. following a healthy diet, regular self‐monitoring and exercise. However, clinicians and parents are often frustrated by the gap between the ‘ideal’ and ‘reality’. Young people have conflicting motivations and pressures; a change in behaviour feels too big, the rewards too distant, the personal or financial costs too high, or maybe it was never their idea to change in the first place. Attention has turned to the potential of motivational interviewing in the paediatric setting, particularly with the adolescent age group. Motivational interviewing is a directive person‐centred therapeutic style that invites individuals to explore ambivalence and find solutions that fit for them if they identify the situation as a problem. Early trials support the use of motivational interviewing in type 1 diabetes in adolescents, either as a stand‐alone treatment or as an adjunct to other treatments where it can be a method of engaging patients in the programmes thus enabling the programmes to be more effective. This paper describes the core principles and key skills of motivational interviewing and offers clinical examples with young people and parents living with diabetes. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Source: Practical Diabetes International - Category: Endocrinology Authors: Tags: Practice point Source Type: research