Book now with Dr Lee Cubis
Motivational Interviewing & Supported Decision-Making: Practical Strategies for Supporting People with Disability
Who it's for:
Allied health professionals, Positive Behaviour Support practitioners, and disability support workers who want to strengthen their communication, collaboration, and ethical decision-making skills.
Overview:
This interactive 3-hour workshop combines two powerful frameworks: Motivational Interviewing (MI) and Supported Decision-Making (SDM) to help practitioners engage people with disability in meaningful, person-led decisions.
What you’ll learn (and practice)
Through case studies, live demonstrations, and hands-on activities, participants will learn how to:
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Use MI micro-skills (OARS, DARN-C, DEARS) to enhance motivation and readiness for change.
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Support choice and autonomy through the Choose–Act–Review cycle of SDM.
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Communicate complex options clearly using plain language, visuals, and teach-back.
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Recognise and prevent undue influence while maintaining safety and dignity.
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Embed MI and SDM into everyday PBS and allied health practice.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
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Apply MI micro-skills to increase engagement and reduce resistance.
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Facilitate supported decision-making conversations that honour the person’s will and preferences.
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Integrate MI + SDM approaches into behaviour support planning, goal setting, and supervision.
Workshop Highlights:
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Practical role-plays using real case scenarios
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Ready-to-use SDM templates and MI job aids
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Guidance on documentation and ethical safeguards
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Resources for team implementation and quality review
Duration: 3 hours (in-person or online)
Facilitator: Dr Lee Cubis, Clinical Psychologist & Specialist Behaviour Support Practitioner
Motivational Interviewing
for
Physiotherapists, Exercise Physiologists, Exercise Scientists
Struggling to get clients to follow through?
Many exercise, movement and rehabilitation professionals find that education and prescription alone aren’t always enough to drive lasting behaviour change. Motivational Interviewing (MI) offers a practical, evidence-based approach to help clients move from ambivalence to action. It gives professionals a client-centered way to spark change talk, reduce pushback, and commit to specific actions. By integrating MI into assessment, goal setting, and review sessions, practitioners can lift adherence, engagement, and real-world outcomes across chronic pain and long-term health conditions.
Who it’s for:
Physiotherapists, Exercise Physiologists, Exercise Scientists, Osteopaths, Rehab teams and other Allied health in chronic disease management populations (including older adults and people with chronic pain)
Overview:
Interactive 3-hour session (live online). Short demos, real-play practice, ready-to-use tools. Designed for immediate use in 10–15-minute clinical windows.
What you’ll learn (and practice):
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MI micro-skills: OARS (Open questions, Affirmations, Reflective listening, Summaries) you can use tomorrow.
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Spot & shape language: change talk vs sustain talk; reflections that move the needle.
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Fast assessment & focus: values, goals and functional outcomes that matter to the client.
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Brief MI in busy clinics: structure a 10-minute adherence boost inside a standard consult.
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Adherence planning: importance/confidence rulers, implementation intentions, pacing and flare-up plans.
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Making it stick: graded activity, habit cues, self-monitoring, and follow-up prompts without nagging.
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Working with people with cognitive impairment: simplify choices, chunk tasks, build confidence.
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Documentation that helps change: quick MI-aligned notes you can audit and reuse.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end you will be able to:
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Apply MI micro-skills to increase engagement and reduce resistance.
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Elicit and strengthen change talk that supports program adherence.
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Co-create realistic, values-linked action plans.
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Run a brief MI conversation within a standard appointment and document it clearly.
What’s included
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MI quick-start cards (cheat-sheet of questions, reflections & rulers).
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Adherence planning worksheet
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Conversation templates for first visit, review, and “stuck” clients.
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Post-workshop resource pack.
Why MI for chronic pain & long-term conditions?
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Aligns exercise or other lifestyle interventions with what the client values, not just what we prescribe.
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Helps clients resolve ambivalence about effort, discomfort, and time.
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Works alongside clinical reasoning, prescribed activity, and pacing; not instead of them.
Duration: 3 hours (in-person or online)
Facilitator: Dr Lee Cubis, Clinical Psychologist & Specialist Behaviour Support Practitioner