How to Stop Talking and Start Communicating With
MOTIVATIONAL INTERVIEWING
A Behavior Therapist’s Guide On How To Effectively Collaborate with Caregivers
By Dr. Monica Gilbert, PSYD, BCBA-D, LMH
How to Stop Talking and Start Communicating With
By Dr. Monica Gilbert, PSYD, BCBA-D, LMH
How to stop talking and start communicating with Motivational Interviewing: A behavior therapist’s guide on how to effectively collaborate with caregivers. Is the first manual ever created directly from a clinician to clinicians working in the behavior field, that addresses communication barriers between clinicians and caregivers and shares scenarios, examples, and exercises to facilitate a collaborative relationship between clinicians and parents? This manual connects two empirically validated practices (ABA and MI) to aid both psychology and behavioral science clinicians who work with challenging families.
The primary goal of this manual is to enhance the quality of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) interventions for children by teaching clinicians Motivational Interviewing (MI) strategies that can encourage greater parental involvement. A major concept in these chapters is ambivalence and resistance. Resistance is understood as a direct byproduct of maladaptive parent-clinician communication styles that leads to parental disengagement, and ambivalence is the middle point between disengagement and action. To address resistance and ambivalence, we reveal a program focused on increasing clinicians’ awareness of their communication style with caregivers (and other professionals) and explain ways to modify current interactions to decrease noncooperation and increase parents’ motivation in the treatment process.
Dr. Monica Gilbert is a Licensed Psychologist and Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in the state of Florida. Dr. Gilbert is also a Board Certified Behavior Analyst-Doctorate (BCBA-D) and the founder of two private practices. For over ten years, Dr. Gilbert has dedicated herself to the field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and Mental Health in treating individuals with Autism, Obsessive Compulsive behaviors, anxiety, depression, Attention Deficit Disorders, and other disorders.
After managing two private practices and over 70 clinicians Dr. Gilbert became aware of the importance of effective communication. Through her supervision and mentorship of clinicians, she observed how barriers in communication directly create barriers in treatment adherence and effectiveness. Her dissertation and post-doctoral practice consisted of a thorough investigation of conflict resolution, crisis de-escalation, and communication enhancement, through the use of Motivational Interviewing (MI).
Dr. Gilbert has presented nationally and internationally on behavior analysis techniques at community workshops, Parent-to-Parent training, various autism awareness events, private/public schools, charity events, foster homes and shelters in both Spanish and English and has been invited as a guest expert speaker on various local Spanish radio and Television shows.
Dr. Gilbert has conducted workshop presentations on Motivational Interviewing nationally and internationally for the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI). Apart from managing both of her practices, doing research and presenting, Dr. Gilbert is an adjunct professor and teaches Applied Behavior Analysis courses at AU, in Florida.