Blog

The stages of change describe how ready a person is to change a specific behavior, and motivational interviewing is a way of talking that meets them where they are and helps them move forward.

Administrators and deans can use motivational interviewing in discipline meetings by shifting from “delivering consequences” to having structured, student‑centered conversations about what happened, what matters to the student, and what needs to change next.

In motivational interviewing, “sustain talk” is any language that leans toward staying the same – their own reasons, needs, or intentions to keep things as they are around a specific behavior.

Motivational interviewing can help address chronic absenteeism by shifting the conversation from “You need to come to school” to “Let’s understand what’s getting in the way and what might make school worth coming to for you.”

In motivational interviewing, “change talk” is any language that leans towards change and is backed by the person's own desire, ability, reasons, need, commitment, or steps to do something differently.