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Nutrition & Dietetics vocabulary · Counseling Clients

Motivational interviewing

Meaning in nutrition & dietetics, with examples

nounAdvanced term

In nutrition & dietetics, motivational interviewing means: A client-centered counseling style that helps people explore their own reasons for change and resolve mixed feelings about it, rather than telling them what to do.

In Turkish: motivasyonel görüşme

How it is used

Abbreviated MI and widely taught to dietitians and other health professionals. Its core skills are often summarized as OARS: open questions, affirmations, reflections and summaries. Practitioners listen for 'change talk' and avoid arguing, which tends to increase resistance.

Example sentences

  1. Using motivational interviewing, she asked the client what he would gain from cooking at home more often.

  2. All new dietitians on the team attend a two-day motivational interviewing workshop.

Common collocations

  • motivational interviewing techniques
  • change talk
  • open questions
  • reflective listening
  • nutrition counselingA supportive conversation, usually over several sessions, in which a dietitian helps a person understand their eating, set goals and make lasting changes that suit their health and lifestyle.
  • behavior changeThe process of changing habits and actions, such as how a person shops, cooks or eats, in a way that lasts over time. In nutrition it is often the main goal of counseling.
  • adherenceThe degree to which a person actually follows an agreed treatment, diet or plan over time, such as eating according to a meal plan or taking supplements as prescribed.
  • dietitianA qualified health professional who has studied nutrition and dietetics at university and uses this knowledge to assess, advise and treat people, including patients with medical conditions.

More terms: Counseling Clients

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.