Which action is associated with 'Motivation Interviewing Skills'?

• A. Open-ended questions, affirmations, reflective listening, and summary statements
• B. Silence
• C. Rhetorical questions
• D. Direct confrontation

Answer: (A)

Motivational Interviewing Skills rely on a collaborative, client-centered approach that uses specific talking techniques to evoke change. The defining set is OARS: open-ended questions, affirmations, reflective listening, and summary statements.

Open-ended questions invite the client to explore their experiences, values, and ambivalence in their own words, which helps uncover intrinsic motivations for change. Affirmations reinforce the client’s strengths, efforts, and past successes, which builds confidence and self-efficacy. Reflective listening demonstrates empathy and understanding, allows the client to hear and clarify their own statements, and keeps the conversation nonjudgmental and supportive. Summary statements pull together themes from the discussion, reinforce autonomy, and highlight the client’s own reasons for change.

Other approaches like silence, rhetorical questions, or direct confrontation don’t align with the MI style. Silence can stall the conversation, rhetorical questions can feel pressuring or judgmental, and direct confrontation risks resistance by pushing the client away from exploring change.

In short, the best action is using open-ended questions, affirmations, reflective listening, and summary statements to elicit change talk within a collaborative, nonjudgmental framework.