If you’ve been following any of the behavior change talk in the fitness industry I’m sure you’ve heard the concept of Motivational Interviewing. But, is it the key to driving client behavior change, or does it risk venturing into problematic areas? Like most answers it depends and today I’m going to clear up what you need to know.
What is Motivational Interviewing?
Developed by clinical psychologists William R. Miller and Stephen Rollnick, MI is a collaborative, goal-oriented counseling style designed to strengthen personal motivation and commitment to change. It involves using open-ended questions, affirmations, reflections, and summaries to explore ambivalence and evoke clients' own reasons for change. MI avoids persuasion, arguing, or coercing the client down a specific path. Instead, it taps into intrinsic motivation and empowerment.
The Good: MI Research and Applications
There is substantial research demonstrating MI's efficacy for supporting behavior change across a variety of settings and populations. In a healthcare context, MI has been shown to positively impact conditions like obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and substance abuse when implemented by properly trained clinicians and therapists.
Within fitness, studies have also shown MI to increase exercise adherence and fitness center visits when delivered by staff with MI training backgrounds. An 8-week MI program for inactive adults increased total physical activity minutes by over 180 minutes per week. Clearly, MI holds promise when applied strategically.
The Bad: Lack of Formal Training
Here's where things get tricky. Most fitness professionals do not have formal training backgrounds in MI counseling techniques. A workshop or crash course does not equip someone with the complex skills to properly facilitate MI sessions. However, many trainers and coaches are led to believe a surface understanding of MI is sufficient for spurring positive client outcomes.
This overconfidence can open the floodgates to tricky situations fitness staff are unprepared to handle. MI done without parameters and on the training floor can damaging client trust and the professional relationship. Without proper MI training and experience managing sensitive conversations, fitness staff may find themselves unequipped to deal with strong emotions or mental health issues that organically arise.
The Ugly: Opening Pandora's Box
This sets the stage for what I call "opening Pandora's box" - unleashing a slew of vulnerabilities you're unable to appropriately address. For example, probing a client's motivation using MI techniques may inadvertently unearth a painful past trauma, family issue, or psychological disorder contributing to their wellness struggles.
Are most personal trainers qualified to provide counseling on trauma, depression, or eating disorders? Can a coach without a clinical background ethically leverage MI-inspired questions to unpack mental health issues? The answer is likely no. Yet many fitness pros diving into MI find themselves venturing beyond their scope of practice.
While coming from a place of caring, lacking the skills to address the root of client struggles uncovered through MI can ultimately do more harm than good for both fitness staff and clients.
Empower Clients, Stay In Scope
This is not to say fitness professionals cannot play a key role in empowering clients to change. But a hammer sees everything as a nail - MI is not the sole answer. Supplement MI-inspired questioning with tools like active listening, empathy, and a solutions-focused mindset. Most importantly, recognize when issues raised are better addressed by a licensed mental health professional, and have referral resources available.
It’s important to not just point out what our fitness industry shouldn’t do but also provide solutions. I have trained thousands of people in my career to deliver empowering support within a system of behavior change that goal oriented and within the scope of support most fitness professionals need to work in. We can go beyond sets and reps and meal plans and dive into the why of unhealthy behavior to make change. We just need to do this within a proven system that targets key questions within a process that keeps the bumper rails on personal probing to focus on key related behavior change. In other words, we can have structured open ended questions that are linked to key strategies as opposed to two unlinked processes.
Like we teach at HBI, the approach we take to engage clients in their own fitness evolutions needs to focus on uncovering small, cumulative changes across mindset, nutrition, movement, sleep, and stress to incrementally build sustainable wellness habits. By designating a separate time to meet with clients, for short meetings to discuss small goals that lead to large changes, coaches effectively and safely guide clients towards positive change while remaining in scope of practice, all within focused 15 minute sessions.
The takeaway? MI is not a panacea, especially when improperly implemented. As fitness professionals, we must recognize both its value and limitations. By using behavior change systems we can empower people to achieve their goals while building trust, making lasting change, while staying within scope.
You can learn more about behavior coaching and how this can improve your income and impact at www.healthybehaviorinstitute.com.
Janine Stichter, PH.D
Dr. Janine Stichter has been in the field of behavior change for over 20 years as a researcher, author, educator and practitioner. She understands the importance of behavior science for client success. Her career has focused on understanding the why behind behavior and identifying clear practices that are practical and result in sustained change. Connect with her:
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Most recently she co-founded the Healthy Behavior Institute, an educational platform for fitness professionals and gym owners that specialize in behavior modification. These educational materials provide professionals with a clear system to add an additional service for better client results and increased revenue.