Let’s have a discussion about substance use disorders and motivation. What has your experience been with the stages of change of clients you have worked with (if you have worked in the field of subst

Let’s have a discussion about substance use disorders and motivation.  What has your experience been with the stages of change of clients you have worked with (if you have worked in the field of substance use counseling)?  How has (or how might you imagine, if you have never worked in this field) their reason for seeking treatment affected their readiness for change (and treatment), and how does/might these reasons impact the way you approach your clients?  What aspects of motivational interviewing do you think would come naturally to you, and what aspects might you have to be more deliberate about using (or might you not use at all)?

If you have a prospective client who shows up with high motivation for treatment and low scores on an alcoholism screening tool like the MAST (Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test), what do you do?  What questions might you ask?  Of whom would you ask these questions?  How might your screening interview affect the outcomes of either of these scores?  How else might you determine the level of need for this particular individual?

References: Chapter 30 (textbook)

 Text: Mack, A.H., Brady, K. T., Miller, S.I., & Frances, R. J. (2016). Clinical Textbookof Addictive Disorders (4th ed.). Guilford Press: New York