When someone enters treatment, they may still have some lingering doubts about living a life of sobriety. When this is the case, spouses of alcoholics support groups (MET) is an effective intervention. MET has been found to be superior to standard community treatment in reducing alcohol/drug use and staying in treatment. MET can help to encourage individuals to become motivated to make healthier choices and changes to the patterns of their substance use. MET helps therapists navigate questions or concerns individuals have about the recovery process.
Ultimately, you inherently possess everything you need to take steps to improve your health. In motivational enhancement therapy, an individual examines their ambivalence surrounding change. By evoking a person’s own thoughts, feelings, and language for change, a client and therapist can work to develop a plan that can help the individual succeed. Once a person in therapy has clarified any concerns, the therapist may focus on the options available for addressing those concerns. Treatment options are not prescribed; rather, they are elicited from the individual. For example, a therapist may ask, “What do you think you can do about this problem?” The therapist then works with an individual to create a change plan.
Before committing to a life free of drugs and alcohol, people should understand why it is important to achieve sobriety. They need to learn that addiction is a disease that can hurt their loved ones as much as it hurts them. Many people turn to a higher power for motivation to overcome drug misuse. A higher power often refers to a deity, but some people interpret it as nature or self-will. Religion or spirituality can help people achieve calmness, peace and sanity. Staying connected to a higher power can give people the strength to avoid drug or alcohol use and commit their lives to sobriety.
- When combined with cognitive behavior therapy, MET has also been shown to be useful for people with marijuana addiction.
- The primary goal of MET is to help individuals recognize and resolve their ambivalence about changing maladaptive behaviors, empowering them to make informed choices that improve their quality of life.
- Additionally, MET can help reduce the risk of developing an addiction or participating in at-risk behaviors.
- This article provides an overview of motivational enhancement therapy, its techniques, and its benefits and effectiveness.
MET works best when an addicted individual determines there is something more precious than the addiction. For many, this is a loved one, but it can also be a job, the will to live, or their dignity. When successful, this allows the person to realize certain behaviors are hindering them from achieving their goals. MET focuses on rapid change, which is especially helpful for treating drug addiction.
Victor Vroom’s Expectancy Theory of Motivation
Furthermore, these positive outcomes tend to be maintained in the long-term, suggesting that MET helps to foster lasting change. Self-efficacy refers to an individual’s belief in their ability to achieve desired outcomes or make positive changes in their lives. In MET, therapists actively support clients’ self-efficacy by highlighting their strengths, past successes, and personal resources.
Developing discrepancy is a key technique in MET that involves helping clients recognize the gap between their current behaviors and their personal values, goals, or desired outcomes. By highlighting these discrepancies, therapists encourage clients to examine the consequences of their actions and consider the potential benefits of change. This process fosters a sense of discomfort with the status quo and motivates clients to take steps towards behavior change. The effectiveness of motivational enhancement therapy can depend on the nature of the individual’s addiction. Research suggests that MET is effective at helping people with alcohol problems reduce their drinking and become more engaged in treatment. Modified Kuppuswamy Socioeconomic Status Scale, Alcohol use disorder identification test, Self-Efficacy Scale as tools were used.
This approach to treatment focuses on helping people to feel more motivated to change their destructive, harmful behavior. Research has consistently demonstrated the efficacy of MET in increasing one’s readiness to stop drug use, reducing the severity of substance use, and in lengthening periods of abstinence. Preliminary evidence also indicates that MET may be useful in enhancing the treatment of other conditions, such as anxiety, eating disorders, and problem gambling. This type of therapy may even be of help to persons who are at risk of developing these conditions. Studies further suggest that MET can help stimulate positive changes in health-risk behaviors among youth living with HIV.
Motivational interviewing (MI) is a client-centered, directive counseling approach that aims to enhance motivation for change by exploring an individual’s ambivalence and fostering their self-efficacy. Developed by clinical psychologists William R. Miller and Stephen Rollnick in the early 1980s, MI laid the foundation for the creation of Motivational Enhancement Therapy. If the client doesn’t believe they can change, they may meet their discrepancy crisis with defensive coping. This will allow the client to reduce the discomfort brought on by the discrepancy without creating change – an understandable behavior. Building self-efficacy takes time and encouragement, which is created in the later sessions. A tenet of motivational interviewing is “rolling with resistance.” This points to the therapist’s ability to avoid challenging the client’s ambivalence.
What Is MET Used For?
Search our providers for a therapist or psychiatrist with expertise in MET. Understanding MET and what to expect can aid you in having a productive conversation with your healthcare provider. As you fall deeper into addiction, you might find yourself wearing a mask so often that it starts to feel https://sober-house.org/ like a… As always, it is important to be critical when seeking help, since the quality of counselors are not consistent. If you are not feeling supported, it may be helpful to seek out another practitioner. A thorough list can be found in our Training in Motivational Interviewing article.
What Is Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET)?
Focused primarily on the treatment of substance use disorders, MET has also proven effective in addressing other behavioral issues. It is rooted in the principles of motivational interviewing and emphasizes a non-confrontational and collaborative relationship between therapist and client. It is an advancement above both motivational therapy and motivational interviewing. Treatment for alcoholism and other drug use problems is its main objective. Therapy aims to elicit internally driven change rather than assist the patient in their recovery. Even though self-destructive behaviors have a detrimental effect on one’s health, family life, and social functioning, those who indulge in them may frequently exhibit ambivalence or lack motivation to modify their behavior.
A therapist with MET training may frequently assist a client in developing an objective perspective on their behaviors. The aim of the combined Motivational Interviewing and Motivational Enhancement Therapy is to increase patient motivation and commitment to reduce or quit using substances – usually over the course of 3 to 4 sessions. With this increased commitment to change, the patient is believed to be able to mobilize their own internal and external resources to facilitate change. This final principle acknowledges that the best success comes when someone believes in their ability to change. Therapists using MET help clients recognize their ability to modify their behavior and achieve their goals. Successful recovery is likelier when someone believes their goals are achievable.
Along with Stephen Rollick, Miller published the first seminal text outlining MI procedures in 1991, which is now in its third edition. MI is also sometimes combined with other types of interventions (e.g., Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) in order to enhance treatment retention and engagement. Motivational Interviewing (MI) is often delivered as a brief intervention based on client-centered principles.
The therapist supports clients in identifying potential barriers to change and developing problem-solving skills to overcome these obstacles. By actively engaging clients in the goal-setting and problem-solving process, MET helps to promote accountability, self-efficacy, and sustained commitment to change. While MET and MI share common principles and techniques, they differ in some aspects.
