February 7th, 2021 
Please share with your peers one of the client centered or person centered videos you have watched. Give us a brief overview of the client and the therapist. Then discuss the change process that occurred. Talk about the relationship or the theory as you watched it in action. Work from notes that you took during the video. Were there moments that surprised you? How does change occur according to this theory? Be sure that your first post is scholarly, several paragraphs long, with references well integrated into the post. Use outside references as well as our text books.
Have fun!!
Adria respond to the main post
The person-centered video I watched was a conversation between Dr. Scott Miller and a client, Laurie. Laurie was experiencing a gradual decline in her health and well-being and felt that it was beginning to snowball out of control. She had sleep apnea from weight gain, and then her lack of energy from sleepless nights contributed to more weight gain. She had a brief reprieve from this experience on vacation with her family in Puerta Vallarta, where she felt alive and energetic again. She ended up losing some weight, despite enjoying lots of wonderful food, indulging in drinks, and getting lost in the vacation mindset of activity. Upon her return, her poor habits returned, and she came to the session feeling disappointed and defeated and unsure how to get her motivation back.
Dr. Miller began this session by outlining Lauries concerns and asking her to fill out an initial scaled evaluation of her current concerns. I was surprised to see that Dr. Miller explained his goal to keep their conversation to the areas that maintained her current satisfied state. This strategy is likely due to a strength-based approach and focuses on optimism; however, I also recognize that sometimes having the safe space to discuss the difficult and messy topics can be remarkably helpful. True to his word, however, throughout this session, Laurie and Dr. Miller stayed in the realm of practical and somewhat superficial discussion of motivations and behaviors. According to Miller and Moyer (2017), Motivational Interviewing is inspired by the work of Carl Rogers and his person-centered theoretical approach (Miller, W. R. & Moyers, 2017). Rogers found that there are diverse needs in the therapeutic context. Not all of them were being met by the more passive styles of person-centered therapy that rely on one’s innate capacity to self-actualize. Cain (2010) explains that some people with obsessive-compulsive disorder, phobias, schizophrenia, addiction disorder, and so forth may respond to a more directive approach, helping build internal motivation (Cain, 2010, ch. 5). Cain (2010) also explains that Rogers was always excited by the idea that his person-centered approach would continue to grow and change as the knowledge developed and new influences contributed to it.
In the session with Dr. Miller and Laurie, Dr. Miller asked her open-ended questions to understand her goals and challenges. When she replied, Dr. Miller would use reflective listening as he replied and kept her engaged. He was also skillful in the type of reflective listening he used as he subtly challenged her to verbalize what she needed in her current environment to begin making good choices for herself. The following is an example:
LAURIE: Its a struggle.
SCOTT D. MILLER: Its a struggle for you.
LAURIE: Yeah,
LAURIE [08:14] and Im not working to my fullest, and you know, I could do better.
SCOTT D. MILLER: How? (Miller, S., 2011, 08:14)
In this example, Dr. Miller asks her to verbalize how she can do better or work to her fullest. Dr. Miller continues this line of questioning until she gets very specific in how she wants to feel, how shed like to perform, and what exact measures each day would help her see that she was meeting these goals. He also maintained, in his responses, and reflective listening, a safe, empathetic, judgment-free, congruent space for her to share her story. At the end of the session, he asked for a quick five-minute break so that both can think through any final thoughts and come up with a plan. After the break, she remembered Rugby as a source of inspiration to add to her situation. Dr. Miller presented his ideas to her as a strategy to overcome her hurdles and help meet her goals, including playing Rugby. Dr. Miller suggested starting small with the strategy that she offered. She decided to make better meal choices in all meals, whereas he suggested beginning with one meal a day (Miller, S., 2011).
Miller and Rose (2009) discuss Motivational Interviewing and the basic tenets required for success. They explain, This spirit (a) is collaborative rather than authoritarian, (b) evokes the clients own motivation rather than trying to install it, and (c) honors the clients autonomy (Miller, W. R. & Rose, 2009, p.533). In the video example, Dr. Miller was able to stay within the spirit of MI by feeding back to Laurie her own goals, allowing her to hear herself express her challenges, and collaborate with him in determining the best strategy for overcoming them.
References
Cain, D. J. (Ed.). (2010). Person-centered psychotherapies. American Psychological Association.
American Psychological Association (Producer), & Miller, S. (Director). (2011). Client-directed outcome-focused therapy for weight gain. [Video/DVD] https://psyctherapy-apa-org.tcsedsystem.idm.oclc.org/Title/777700080-001: APA.
Miller, W. R., & Moyers, T. B. (2017). Motivational interviewing and the clinical science of carl rogers. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 85(8), 757-766. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org.tcsedsystem.idm.oclc.org/10.1037/ccp0000179
Miller, W. R., & Rose, G. S. (2009). Toward a theory of motivational interviewing. American Psychologist, 64(6), 527-537. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org.tcsedsystem.idm.oclc.org/10.1037/a0016830
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