Ep 93 – Integrating Body Awareness into Motivational Interviewing
Talking To Change - A Motivational Interviewing PodcastShow Notes
Miranda Grattan Marie Delorme Glenn and Sebastian welcomed Miranda Grattan and Marie Delorme to discuss integrating body awareness into Motivational Interviewing and the contribution of somatic therapy to MI practice. The conversation explores embodiment, nervous system capacity, trauma-informed practice, presence and how attention to bodily experience can deepen the relational spirit of MI. Related Knowledge Centre topics include the Spirit of Motivational Interviewing, Reflective Listening and Empowerment. Marie Delorme is a Certified Motivational Trainer based in Ottawa, Canada, regularly offering MI training and coaching internationally. She is a somatic psychotherapist certified in Integrated Somatic Therapy Practice (C-ISTP™) and provides trauma-informed therapy in both in-person and virtual settings. Marie’s work integrates motivational interviewing with body-based practices such as restorative yoga, breathwork, Thai yoga massage, movement, and sound therapy. She is passionate about creating safe, supportive spaces where people can reconnect with their bodies, release stress and trauma at their own pace, and move toward greater clarity, self-compassion, and personal growth.
Miranda Grattan is a Registered Social Worker (RSW, MSW), MI trainer and consultant, and a Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner (SEP™). She has been a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT) since 2013 and served as a coach for the MINT-endorsed online Training New Trainers (TNT) in 2025. Based in Prince George, Canada, on the unceded lands of the Lheidli T’enneh, her work is grounded in relational, decolonizing, and anti-oppressive practice. Miranda is also an approved Advanced-level Training Assistant and a beginner-level Personal Education Session Provider within Somatic Experiencing® International’s three-year professional training program.
Drawing on her years of MI practice and teaching, alongside her work as a body-oriented trauma therapist, she explores an emerging contribution within the MI community: how attention to nervous system capacity, embodiment, and neurobiology can deepen the spirit of Motivational Interviewing, presence, and evocation. Her approach blends close observation of MI in action with practical guidance for nervous-system-informed communication and practice. She also facilitates neurobiologically informed professional learning across service systems, informing her understanding of motivation, capacity, and readiness in complex practice contexts.
Somatic Experiencing International (SEI) Disclaimer
The Somatic Experiencing® modality is provided for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute providing medical advice, medical treatment or tools used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease. Those seeking personal medical advice should consult with a licensed physician. For more information about the Somatic Experiencing modality, please visit the website www.traumahealing.org.
SEI does not endorse, approve, or support any specific authors, practitioners, or contributors unless explicitly stated otherwise. Views, opinions, methodologies, or practices expressed by individuals regarding SEI modalities are their own and do not necessarily reflect the official views of SEI.
In this episode
0:00 – Opening and episode introduction
7:05 – Marie and Miranda’s introductions and early MI stories
14:15 – Marie and Miranda’s early experiences with body focused work
19:00 – Noticing the body when doing MI
31:00 – Alignment of the mind, the heart, and the body
36:45 – Integrating body awareness and MI
46:35 – What does a body need when it is healing itself?
56:10 – Marie demonstrating a resting somatic exercise
1:05:15 – Miranda demonstrating an activating somatic exercise
1:27:10 – “The body as a doorway to motivation”
1:28:30 – Marie working on balance and Miranda being an ice hockey mom
1:32:46 – End of recording
Links and contact informat
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