"Exceptional." Motivational Interviewing with Staffordshire County Council

The difference between the Steven who sometimes dreaded returning to work from his holidays to the Steven of 2022 who can’t wait to throw himself back into work is immeasurable. I have had another richly rewarding week and no mistaking.

I feel refreshed, clean shaven (there's a new one) and rejuvenated!

This week has seen my working alongside some clearly very motivated members of staff from Staffordshire County Council – my home away from home. Over the last two days the assembled learners joined my online version of Inspiring Change – Motivational Interviewing. The course has had a 2022 top to toe revamp with new films, new resources and brand-new activities. I think it’s very important to ensure activities don’t become staid and one keeps abreast of the ever-changing world.

Staffordshire County Council has been extremely supportive of my endeavours, especially in relation to my research and creating tasks that both reflect and inform the myriad social issues faced by people in the county.

The group was especially talented and some of the tasks I had planned went by the wayside as they grasped the fundamentals very quickly indeed. Sian had previously attended MI training and it’s lovely to read that she feels more confident to put her skills into practice after attending training with me.

Here are a few of the comments, as always, the feedback is 100% positive and demonstrates that people really appreciate the effort that goes into creating bespoke training for local authorities.

“Informative and interactive training, great to see real life examples, Steven kept trainees engaged and involved at all stages, enjoyed working with a mix of people in breakout rooms instead of same people all the time, have already in between days implemented some simple reflection into my work with families and will continue to embed this and particularly the 6 step approach.- Thank You.”

Siobhan

“I found the 2-day training very useful and will transfer the skills over to my current post. I will definitely be using scaling and the change box. Steven is very knowledgeable and have thoroughly enjoyed the training.”

Rehana

“Really engaging course. Useful to try out techniques on colleagues to help ensure understanding. Real life examples excellent and helped to put the theory into context. Very interactive which ensures focus. Defiantly helpful in building confidence of how to speak with families and how to get the best relationship and engagement with them. I really enjoyed the two days, Thanks.”

Caroline

“This is one of the trainings I have been on that I have had so much learning that I can directly apply in my current role to engage with the young people that I with work. The video clips reinforced the learning and all information shared were simple, easily to understand and easy to apply to my role. The session was very interactive and this was another exceptional addition considering that it was a virtual session. I am taking away so much from this training; avoiding S. M.O.G using and instead of but.”

Zilla

“A good variety of learning from group discussions to videos and tasks. Enjoyed exploring open questions, paraphrasing, and summarising. It was interesting to listen to your stories and experience. Demonstrating from the presenting issues to empowering and motivating the family to make positive changes to their journey . One thing I will take into my practise is the six-step change. Thank you, really enjoyed the two days training.”

Charlotte

“I have had training on MI previously but have not felt very confident to use it, although I do think some of the skills have been embedded in my work. This training was very clear and gave me a better sense that I did understand it and confidence to use it more in my social work practice…The mix of videos, group work and stories was really good.”

Sian

“I recently had an assessment with a young lady who appeared shy and reserved. She did not talk much but gave one-word answers to my questions. The skills I have acquired will help me to get her to open up and talk more during my next assessment with her.”

Michael