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Motivational Interviewing and Mentalizing

AMBIT (Adaptive Mentalization Based Integrative Treatment) is a mentalization-based approach for teams and systems working with people who have multiple needs.

About this course

How do you help people who aren’t sure they want help? How do you support people to make change when at times they are not sure they really want to change?

This unique course presents an overview of the theory and practice of Motivational Interviewing – a client-centered approach to strengthen their own motivation to change and support them in making changes. In this highly practical course, the theory and practices of Motivational Interviewing are underpinned and complemented by the concept of Mentalization. Throughout the course, participants will be given the opportunity to practice motivational interviewing and mentalizing skills. This training will cover:

  • The ethos/principles of MI

  • The cycle of change and how to apply it to your work

  • Mentalizing and mentalizing stance: how they relate to MI and cycle of change

  • Principles of Motivational work

  • Recognising and working with ambivalence

  • Recognising and responding to sustain/change talk in ourselves and with clients

The training consists of an engaging combination of live teaching, group discussion, skills practice, and interactive online activities.

Aims of the training

The course aims to help practitioners in a variety of settings to support people to engage in help and make changes by:

  • Learning the core principles of MI and how they connect with mentalizing and mentalization based practice

  • Developing skills in client-centered communication and maintaining a mentalizing stance

  • Develop skills that address ambivalence and elicit clients’ own motivation to change

Who is this training for?

This course is suitable for all practitioners who work in the areas of health, social care, education and youth services.  It will be of particular interest to those who would like to introduce MI interventions into their existing practice and already use mentalization based practices in their work. But prior knowledge and experience of mentalizing approaches and MI are not required.

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