Talking To Change - A Motivational Interviewing Podcast

Ep 73 – MI and Hope in Alaska

Talking To Change - A Motivational Interviewing Podcast

Show Notes

MI and Hope in Alaska

Glenn and Sebastian discussed MI and Hope in Alaska with Sarah Niecko. Sarah is an Assistant Professor of Behavioral Health Sciences at the University of Alaska Southeast in Juneau, AK, USA. She has a Master of Science in Medicine and a Doctorate of Health Sciences. She is also a Duke trained Health & Wellness Coach and a recent member of MINT (Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers). She spent 18 years practicing behavioral and lifestyle medicine, including two years in rural Alaska partnering with Yup’ik Eskimos. It was during this time that she began to fully appreciate the transformative potential of motivational interviewing and the healing power of culture, resilience, and hope.

Motivational Interviewing, hope and resilience

Sarah Niecko explores Motivational Interviewing, hope and resilience through her work in Alaska. Drawing on behavioural and lifestyle medicine and her experience in rural Alaska, she reflects on culture, identity, curiosity and compassion as resources for both practitioners and the people they serve.

The episode considers burnout, the MI spirit directed towards ourselves and the role of language in reconnecting with identity. These themes connect with the Spirit of Motivational Interviewing, Compassion and Acceptance.

In this episode

0:00 – Opening and episode preview

5:00 – Transforming burnout through hope and love

14:00 – Adapting to a new world through curiosity and compassion

22:30 – Embodying the MI spirit

27:53 – “Hope is the flint of the heart”

32:03 – MI spirit directed inward before radiating it forward

36:57 – Language as a way to rediscover identity

40:00 – Creating a new integrated behavioral health program

49:52 – End of recording

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