About Session
Session Description
Pregnant and postpartum individuals often face unique challenges that impact health behaviors, treatment adherence, and overall well-being. This session focuses on applying Motivational Enhancement and Motivational Interviewing (MI) techniques within brief counseling encounters to support positive change during this critical period. Providers will learn how to use MI’s core principles—expressing empathy, developing discrepancy, rolling with resistance, and supporting self-efficacy—in a way that respects the complexities of pregnancy and postpartum care. Practical strategies will be shared for eliciting change talk, addressing ambivalence, and strengthening intrinsic motivation in time-limited interactions. Emphasis will be placed on collaborative, client-centered communication that empowers patients to make informed decisions about their health and parenting goals. By the end of this session, participants will gain actionable tools to enhance motivation and improve outcomes for pregnant and postpartum patients in healthcare, behavioral health, and community settings.
Learning Objectives:
- Participants will be able to explain the core principles of Motivational Interviewing and how they apply to brief counseling with pregnant and postpartum patients.
- Participants will be able to identify strategies for eliciting change talk and addressing ambivalence in time-limited interactions.
- Participants will be able to demonstrate the use of open-ended questions, affirmations, reflective listening, and summarizing to enhance patient motivation.
- Participants will be able to apply motivational enhancement techniques to support health behavior change and treatment adherence during pregnancy and postpartum care.
