Partnering with Parents: Motivational Interviewing

How can a conversation with a caregiver reveal what makes a treatment plan hard to use? In this recording, Monica Gilbert explores motivational interviewing through open questions, reflective listening and worked conversations. The session focuses on understanding a person's reasons for change and responding to ambivalence with respect for their choices.

What the session covers

• Participation and practical barriers: how confidence, family demands, expectations and available resources enter conversations about a treatment plan.
• Readiness for change: the stages discussed in the session, from not recognizing a problem through preparation, action and maintenance, including setbacks.
• Open questions and reflective listening: the OARS framework of open questions, affirmations, reflections and summaries. One worked example shows how asking what a caregiver actually does reveals a detail that a yes-or-no question misses.
• Elicit–provide–elicit: ask what the person knows, ask permission to offer information, then check what they understood.
• Change talk and sustain talk: distinguish a person's reasons for taking a step from their reasons for keeping things as they are. A sleep example demonstrates different follow-up questions to a readiness rating.
• Responses to ambivalence: double-sided reflections, reframing, personal choice and readiness rulers, with a staged parent conversation and discussion of practice and feedback.

The recording teaches communication approaches for professionals working with caregivers. Its examples and research discussion reflect the material presented at the time; it does not establish outcomes for an individual family or replace an individualized treatment plan.

Format, price and access

One recorded training, listed as two hours. Price: $39 for one user. The individual purchase has 30 days of active access.

BACB credits: 2.0 BACB Learning/General CEUs. Credits for a training may be claimed only once; repeating it does not permit a second claim.

Recording presenter: Monica Gilbert, with panelist Ronald T. Brown and host Jennifer Rumfola. The linked biography describes her work at the time of the recording.

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Feedback about this recording

Special Learning rating snapshot: October 13, 2026, at 14:57 Central. Rating responses are the latest question-matched answer per customer account and recording, including partial answers; repeat answers are not added again. The average uses only complete six-question forms.

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In respondents' own words

Three anonymous answers to "How can we make this training better?", from the October 11, 2026 comment extraction. They show different experiences of the session.

I really enjoyed this training.

Training improvement response, 2024

It seemed very long, maybe real life experiences could help

Training improvement response, 2023

It was a little hurried near the end when reviewing strategies for responding to resistance; maybe add a little more time?

Training improvement response, 2023

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