Question

A 29-year-old man comes to coaching for his 4th session. He has been working with his coach on increasing his positive self-talk.

Coach: Describe for me what it feels like when you have positive self-talk anytime during the day.
Client: It feels freeing and empowering. Like I could do anything that day.
Coach: On a scale of 1-10, 1 being not confident at all to 10 being 100 perecent confident, how confident are you that you can meet your goal of positive self-talk at least twice per day.
Client: I would say a 7.
Coach: Why a 7 and not a 6?
What is the coach trying to elicit from the client with their questions?
A. Identifying strengths
B. Change talk
C. Empathy
D. Ability to change

Answer 1

The coach uses questions to elicit change talk from the client to reinforce the client's commitment to their goal of positive self-talk, highlighting the client's perceived ability and increasing their confidence.

Step-by-step explanation:

The coach in the dialogue is trying to elicit change talk from the client with their questions. By asking the client to articulate why they selected a '7' on the confidence scale instead of a '6', the coach is encouraging the client to explore and affirm their perceived ability to meet their goal of positive self-talk at least twice per day.

This technique is grounded in motivational interviewing and helps reinforce the client's commitment to change by having them express their reasons for confidence in making a behavioral change. Change talk is critical because it indicates the clients' own arguments for change, thereby enhancing their motivation and readiness to take steps towards that goal.