Changemaker

This is an individual or small group health counseling using the motivational interviewing (MI) strategy for behavior change. MI is a specific person-centered communication technique to strengthen self-motivation and commitment to change. Rather than just teaching or telling a participant what to do, MI uses ideas of intrinsic motivation and goal setting to help generate behavior change. The Changemaker implementor (HCW, CHW, teacher, etc.) will first establish rapport and build trust with the adolescent using open-ended questions, active listening, and empathetic responses. They will then assess the adolescent’s readiness to change. They will then elicit the adolescent’s own reasons for wanting to change their behavior. This can be done using open-ended questions, reflections, and summarizations. Together with the adolescent, the implementor will develop a specific and achievable plan for behavior change that includes specific goals, strategies, and action steps.