Motivational interviewing refers to a counseling approach that relies on collaborative conversation between the counselor and patient.

There are different approaches counselors can take when it comes to communicating with their clients. One effective method of communication is known as motivational interviewing.

There are different approaches counselors can take when it comes to communicating with their clients. One effective method of communication is known as motivational interviewing.

What is motivational interviewing?

Motivational interviewing refers to a counseling approach that relies on collaborative conversation between the counselor and patient in order to motivate the patient to want to change. This communication and motivation then drives the individual to take real action and actually make the change occur.

Every patient comes to counseling at a different stage in his or her life. Some have yet to accept the fact that they need to make changes, some are ready to make a change but don’t know how, and some have tried to change but have failed and need professional help. Through motivational interviewing, each individual will be able to work through his or her desired goals and ultimately find success.

What is the main focus of motivational interviewing?

There are four different interactions that need to be taken for successful motivational interviewing. These include asking open-ended questions, providing affirmations, using reflective listening and providing summary statements.

During a motivational interviewing session, patients are not judged or confronted about their behaviors. Instead, they are asked into a welcoming environment with someone who simply wants to talk about their behaviors, the consequences of their behaviors, the changes that could be made, and the future of their life when these changes occur. All of this is meant to motivate the individual to make their desired change.

What makes motivational interviewing different than other counseling approaches?

With motivational interviewing, the desire to change is brought on solely by the patient. Yes, the counselor is there to talk with them about their behaviors, the consequences of their behaviors, and how their life could be different if change was made, but they never force the change on the person. Instead, they use the motivational conversation to help the patient understand that they can change and provide them with the desire to want to change all on their own. The patient is never forced to change, and they can decide to change on their own time. In fact, the counselor is there mostly to direct the questions and thoughts, but never to provide his or her own input or opinion.

What “challenges” are best resolved with motivational interviewing?

There are certain fields where motivational interviewing is typically applied, and those include health coaching, gambling addiction, substance abuse and mental disorders.

Where did motivational interviewing start?

The concept of motivational interviewing was developed by clinical psychologists Stephen Rollnick, Ph.D. and William Miller, Ph.D. The approach was first described in 1983 and used as a treatment with individuals suffering from drinking problems. More detailed descriptions of the procedures were announced in 1991. It has since grown into a popular and widely used counseling approach today.

How can I become a motivational interviewer?

If you wish to become a motivational interviewer or use the approach in your own counseling, you need to receive training. Training classes can be found on the MINT website.

James Lawson is an life coach, podcaster and freelance writer focused on addictions and recovery

Here are five tips for new moms to help sleep a little bit more.

Becoming a mom for the first time is an exciting time but it can also be quite nerve-wracking. There are so many things that are going to be new for you and it is really hard to prepare for the changes that are going to happen in your life.

One big difference is unfortunately going to be the fact that you won’t be getting much sleep at the start.

To help you out here are five simple and handy tips that can help you sleep better and just a little bit more.

1. Get The Father Involved With Feeding

Although you want to keep breastfeeding the baby it is still possible to get the father involved with the feeding routine. For instance, use a breast pump to express some milk that the father can feed the baby with when putting the baby to sleep.

This way you can hit the bed earlier while the father gets some time alone with the baby.

It isn’t a bad idea to take turns with the night feeding either. For instance, try to make it so that both are able to get six hours of uninterrupted sleep at least every other night.

2. Take Naps

Naps aren’t naturally the same as getting a full night sleep but they are still better than not getting sleep at all. There are a lot of studies that have looked into the art of napping. For instance, the BBC article on the subject states that the perfect nap length is something between 20-30 minutes.

3. Keeping Baby Busy

You should invest in a proper baby carrier that you can put the baby in while you are doing something else. Even placing a blanket and some soft baby toys on the floor can keep the baby occupied while you prepare food or do other chores around the house.

This allows you to rest together with the baby instead of doing the chores then.

4. Shopping Online To Save Time

One of the best ways you can have just a little bit more time to sleep is to start shopping for things online. Not only will it help you save the time from getting yourself and the baby to the shops but it also gives you the freedom to shop whenever you have time.

For instance, if you are trying to get the baby to sleep in the middle of the night you can go clothes shopping at the same time. This way during the daytime you can perhaps try to get a nap. Shopping online is often cheaper as well. For example, wholesale clothing at All Stores Clothing can save you a lot of money as well as time.

5. Ask For Help

You don’t need to try to be a supermom either. It is OK to ask for help because the more rested you are the better it is going to be for the baby and your relationships.

Ask someone to babysit for the baby and just sleep a few hours during this time. You could even get help with cleaning the house so that you are able to sleep or spend more time with the baby.

There are a lot of affordable options out there even if you can’t get friends or family to help out. 

Nadine likes to help young and new mothers and fathers face the challenges of becoming a parent. She loves to find out tips for helping babies have a good environment to grow up in. She also loves to meditate.

India is popular for many things; among them are attractions like the Ganges River, cricket and Indian food. It is estimated that India receives over 5 billion tourists annually, making tourism one of India’s leading income earners. Of this number, there are those that are in India for more than just sightseeing; medical tourists. The number of medical tourists to India has ballooned so much that industry experts estimate that medical tourism will be a billion dollar industry come 2015.

Medical Tourism in India

The reasons for travelling to India for healthcare are self-explanatory. The cost of healthcare, especially in developed countries, is off the roof. With no insurance, many people choose alternative means, which in this case is travelling miles and miles away to seek affordable health services. There are tens of thousands of skilled health professionals in India, especially in Chennai, dubbed the health capital of India. According to statistics, Chennai, with its numerous hospitals receives about 45% of the medical tourists that come to India. Other reasons that make India popular among medical tourists is the availability of medical technologies, absence of visa restrictions, minimal language barrier and of course, diminished costs.

Fertility clinic in Chennai

Also termed as reproductive exile, fertility tourism is the practice of travelling to another country to seek fertility treatments. India tops the list of fertility tourists with the availability of numerous fertility clinics in Chennai. What allures about these hospitals is the fact that they have state-of-the-art fertility laboratories, qualified doctors and specialists, and, as a result, offer the best fertility services including intra cytoplasm sperm injection (ICSI), sperm banking, intrauterine insemination, blastocyst culture, laparoscopy and hysteroscopy, ovulation induction, frozen embryo transfer and egg sharing. As a result, they have some of the highest pregnancy rates in the world.

Child hospitals in Chennai

For those seeking paediatricians and child healthcare professionals, Chennai is your own stop shop. There are a number of child hospitals in Chennai that cater to infants and kids alike. Most of these hospitals are run by highly qualified trained paediatricians.

Before travelling to India

Before travelling to India, it is imperative that you call the hospital you are about to visit, and make sure that things are in order. Needless to say, you should plan every aspect of your visit for easy travel. Fortunately, there are a number of medical travel agents, who can coordinate your travel and medical check-up and treatment at a nominal fee.

If you're ready to quit smoking but you have no idea where to even start this article is for you. Learn how to kick the bad habit once and for all.

                          

Quitting any habit is a very difficult task to see through to the very end, especially smoking. The internet is buzzing with so many different tips and tricks to help you, it’s hard to know which ones to follow. But there’s no need to panic, after scouring the internet and filtering out the good information from the bad this article has complied all the necessary information for you.

Mental Preparation

The first step to quitting is preparation. Make sure that you are mentally ready for this big step in your life because it will greatly affect your emotions, as well as your  body. There’s no evidence that cigarettes help level your mood so know that when your body is screaming for a cigarette the feeling will pass.

Have A Plan

Instead of going cold turkey, which doesn’t work for a majority of people, create a schedule that you’ll follow which outlines how you’ll slowly decrease the number of cigarettes that you smoke. Also allocate a day in the future that you want to be completely smoke free. It will make it more likely that you will quit if you set yourself achievable goals.

Get Focused

Give yourself a reason to quit. There will be some days that are just terrible on your road to becoming a non-smoker and on these days it will be tempting to slip back into old habits.

So compose a list of all the reasons why you should quit. Maybe it’s for your health, or for the sake of a loved one. Whatever your reasons are write them down and keep them somewhere you can see them often. Maybe on your fridge door or on the mirror in your bedroom.

Arm Yourself With Information

Know all the negative effects of smoking and all the benefits of quitting. On average people who smoke lose up to 16 years of their lifespan. Also children can develop bronchitis, pneumonia and meningitis when exposed to second-hand smoke.

Non-smokers are less likely to develop cancer, heart and lung disease while second-hand smoke increases children’s and adult’s chances of getting lung cancer by 24% and heart disease by 25%. Black lungs aside, here are the effects on your body you might not already know.

For a more positive spin, you could save hundreds of pounds that you would normally spend on cigarettes and will feel healthier and more energetic the longer you quit for.

Manage Your Cravings

When you stop smoking your body will go through withdrawal which often results in cravings, irritableness and even fatigue. There are a number of ways to tackle your cravings and different people find that different methods work best for them.

Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NTR) is one of the more popular methods. Instead of smoking you can chew on nicotine gum, wear nicotine patches or use nasal spray. Unlike cigarettes NTRs do not contain tar, poisons or carbon monoxide so they are less harmful to your body. NTRs are also easy to purchase as you can buy them from pharmacies and other shops without a prescription from your doctor or GP.

For certain people taking up exercise helps them with the withdrawal symptoms. Even just a short half hour walk could really help. In fact keeping busy in general can help keep you mind of cigarettes and cravings. 

There are certain kinds of drinks that you should try and stay away from because they can affect your cravings. For example alcohol, fizzy drinks, coffee and tea are all drinks that you should avoid, at least in the beginning of your recovery. Instead stick more to juice and water to help quit.

Take The Good With The Bad

You’ll have good days and bad days and often you’ll think about just giving up trying to quit but you should try and stay positive. Remind yourself constantly why you want to do this and all the benefits you will gain from it. Others have done it before and it is not impossible for you. Believe that you can do this, and you’ll be more likely to succeed.

Quitting smoking is never easy and for many people it’s easy to give up but now you are aware of the tips of how to get through this tough time. Good luck!

Have you recently stopped smoking? What worked for you? Share your experiences and help others quit today.

Chioma is passionate writer and spends a lot of her time writing articles and blog posts. She is also a big fan of fantasy TV shows, reading and eating chocolate.

The Sunshine Act was originally adopted as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in March 2010 which requires pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers to report annually to CMS about transfers of value they make to physicians and teaching hospitals. This information will be compiled by CMS and posted which can be accessed by public.

Physicians are not required to carry out any specific procedure under this act as they have been defined as “covered recipients” under the final rule but it is recommended for many physicians.

The information that physicians should expect applicable manufacturers to report are: the physician’s name, address, specialty, license information, NPI and details of payment made.

In the Sunshine Act there are some exclusions mentioned for educational materials that are for patient use or direct patient benefit, but all “educational materials” provided by a company will not be excluded. The reported items include: items provided for the education of physicians and marketing and promotional materials.

In order to adhere to this, companies should consider developing a method and process for assessing which items must be tracked and reported to satisfy state laws and the new Physicians Sunshine Act regulations and assigning a value to each of these items that is consistent across the company.

Some of the things to do to ensure a compliant practice are:

• Practices must take care to make sure that current organizational document, employment agreements, compliance policies, and conflict-of-interest disclosure procedures are updated.

• Under this act, physicians must request the ability to conduct a pre-submission review from the manufacturers and GPOs with which they have financial arrangements. If this is not available, physicians need to review and look-up for any loop-hole in the information.

• Physicians must make a note in their calendars to review the information reported to CMS. It is important to maintain accurate financial records to ensure that the information that has been submitted to CMS is accurate.

• If applicable manufacturers and GPOs fail to adhere to the Sunshine Act, they will face severe penalties, including a hefty fine of $1,000,000 for those that intentionally fail to report. This implies that the information provided will be published and it is necessary to steer-clear of scrutiny with regard to the information that they will provide.