Ep 36 – The Psycholinguistics of MI
Ep 36 – The Psycholinguistics of MI
Glenn Hinds Psycholinguistics
Glenn and Sebastian were excited about having Paul Amrhein on the podcast given his historical importance to the development of MI. 
Paul is presently on the faculties of Montclair State University (Professor, Psychology) in New Jersey and Columbia University (Adjunct Associate Professor, Psychiatry) in New York. An experimental psycholinguist by training, he earned his PhD in psychology at the University of Wisconsin—Madison. In 1995, as a faculty colleague at the University of New Mexico, Paul began work with Bill Miller on an exploration of the nature and role of client language evoked during MI as a predictor of substance use outcomes. Based on his dissertation work, Paul devised a process model explaining how the valence (sustain or change) and strength (weak or strong) of client commitment expressions, supported by underlying preparatory language, lead to behavioral outcomes. Since then, he has been investigating how factors of therapist training in MI and client learning ability interact to promote or impede change talk and its relationship to subsequent behavior.
Psycholinguistics and Motivational Interviewing
Paul explores how the language people use during Motivational Interviewing can help us understand movement towards or away from change. The discussion considers not only whether someone expresses change talk or sustain talk, but also the strength of commitment language and how preparatory language may contribute to later behaviour.
The episode also examines double-sided reflections, the reflection-to-question ratio and the idea that change talk is constructed within the interaction between practitioner and client. These themes connect directly with Change Talk, Sustain Talk and Reflective Listening.
In this episode
0:00 – Opening/introduction
2:05 – Paul’s introduction and MI background
5:25 – The original DARRN-C coding system
9:20 – Category, valence, and strength of change language
21:00 – Double-sided reflections
23:25 – The reflection to question ratio (R:Q)
31:30 – Psycholinguistics beyond substance use conversations: “Talk is talk”
37:00 – Change talk is a construction between the client and the practitioner
44:45 – Connecting what the client says and what the client does
47:10 – How experience affects learning MI
50:25 – Re-entering normalcy, with masks
54:26 – End of recording
Links and contact information:
- Email: pa2146@columbia.edu
- 2003 paper citation:
- Amrhein, P.C., Miller, W.M., Yahne, C.E., Palmer, M., & Fulcher, L. (2003). Client commitment language during motivational interviewing predicts drug use outcomes. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71, 862-878. DOI: 1037/0022-006X.71.5.862
Listen to Episode 36
Contact Talking to Change
Glenn: glenn@glennhinds.com
Sebastian: sebkaplan34@gmail.com
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