Motivational Interviewing for Dietitians and Nutritionists

The Complete Conversation Guide with Scripts, Dialogue Examples, and Patient-Centered Strategies for Nutrition Therapy

Travis Humphrey Shepherd

• Publisher: Jstone Publishing
• Year: 2025
• eBook ISBN: 9781923604957
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Education Counseling

Transform Resistant Patients Into Engaged Partners Using Evidence-Based Motivational Interviewing

You spent years mastering nutrition science. You know exactly what your patients need to eat. But they're not following through. They nod politely, take your handouts, and return months later with unchanged behaviors and worsening lab values.

The problem isn't your nutrition knowledge. It's the conversation.

This comprehensive guide teaches dietitians, nutritionists, and diabetes educators how to use Motivational Interviewing (MI) to create lasting behavior change in patients who resist traditional counseling approaches.

Master Patient-Centered Communication Skills That Actually Work:

? The Four MI Processes – Engaging, Focusing, Evoking, and Planning frameworks for every nutrition counseling encounter

? OARS Toolkit – 100+ ready-to-use open-ended questions, affirmations, reflective listening techniques, and summaries designed specifically for nutrition professionals

? Change Talk Recognition – Learn the DARN-CAT framework to identify and strengthen patient motivation using their own words, not your prescriptions

? 20+ Complete Dialogue Examples – See exactly what to say when patients are resistant, sent by their doctor, trapped in chronic dieting cycles, or expressing ambivalence about change

? Avoid Counseling Traps – Identify and escape the Expert Trap, Premature Focus Trap, Planning Trap, Question-Answer Trap, and Righting Reflex that sabotage sessions

? Specialty Applications – Weight management without stigma using HAES principles, eating disorder recovery, diabetes management, chronic disease counseling, and lifespan adaptations

Perfect for:

Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs) seeking improved patient outcomes

Clinical and outpatient dietitians facing resistant clients

Diabetes educators struggling with adherence challenges

Nutritionists wanting stronger therapeutic relationships

Healthcare providers integrating nutrition counseling into practice

Comprehensive Coverage Includes:

MI Foundations: Spirit, principles, why traditional tell-and-prescribe counseling fails, and the science behind behavior change

Core Skills: OARS communication techniques, change talk versus sustain talk, managing resistance, rolling with discord, and the Elicit-Provide-Elicit framework

Brief Encounters: Five A's framework, FRAMES technique, and strategies for effective 5-15 minute consultations in busy clinical settings

Extended Sessions: Structure for 30-60 minute sessions balancing education with evocation, using assessment tools, and documentation that satisfies Medical Nutrition Therapy requirements

Special Populations: Weight-inclusive counseling, eating disorder considerations, diabetes and chronic disease management, pediatric through geriatric adaptations, cultural humility

Real-World Applications: Group MI, telehealth delivery, difficult conversations with unmotivated patients, family conflicts, unrealistic expectations, and challenging scenarios

Professional Development: Preventing burnout, maintaining boundaries, measuring MI impact, advancing skills from novice to proficient practitioner

Table of contents

• Motivational Interviewing for Dietitians and Nutritionists
• Table of Contents
• Chapter 1: Why MI for Nutrition Professionals
• Chapter 2: The MI Mindset—From Expert to Guide
• Chapter 3: The Neuroscience of Change
• Chapter 4: The Four Processes of MI
• Chapter 5: OARS—Your Essential Communication Toolkit
• Chapter 6: Recognizing and Evoking Change Talk
• Chapter 7: Rolling with Resistance and Sustain Talk
• Chapter 8: The Common Traps That Sabotage Counseling
• Chapter 9: Managing the Righting Reflex
• Chapter 10: When Advice-Giving is Appropriate
• Step 1: Elicit (What do they already know and want to know?)
• Step 2: Provide (Share information neutrally and specifically)
• Step 3: Elicit (What do they make of this information?)
• Chapter 11: MI for Weight Management
• Chapter 12: MI in Eating Disorder Recovery
• Chapter 13: MI for Diabetes and Chronic Disease Management
• Chapter 14: MI Across the Lifespan
• Chapter 15: MI in Brief Encounters (5-15 Minutes)
• Chapter 16: MI in Extended Sessions (30-60 Minutes)
• Chapter 17: Group MI and Community Settings
• Chapter 18: Building Your MI Skills Over Time
• Chapter 19: Difficult Conversations in Nutrition Counseling
• Chapter 20: Integration with Medical Nutrition Therapy
• Chapter 21: Preventing Burnout and Maintaining Boundaries
• Chapter 22: Measuring Your MI Impact
• Chapter 23: Advanced MI
• Appendix A: Quick Reference Guides
• Appendix B: Practice Tools
• Step 1: Identify Your Values
• Step 2: Connect Values to Behavior
• Step 3: Envision the Future
• Step 4: Identify One Small Step
• Step 5: Check Feasibility
• Appendix C: Training and Certification Resources
• Appendix D: Research Summary
• Appendix E: Sample Documentation