MI for Change: Motivational Interviewing in ABA & Mental Health

Why BCBA Programs Never Taught You How to Work With Adults — And What to Do About It

Go back to your BCBA coursework for a second. Data collection. Behavior analysis. Program design. Ethics. Verbal behavior. The hours were real. The training was rigorous. And it prepared you to be an exceptional clinician for the children you work with. Now answer this honestly: how many of those hours were dedicated to sitting across from a parent who's heard your advice a hundred times — who is ambivalent, resistant, overwhelmed, and has fears that have nothing to do with your program — and actually knowing what to do? For most BCBAs, the answer is zero. And yet that conversation is the hardest part of the job. It's the part that drives burnout. It's the part that determines whether the work you're doing in session ever generalizes. And nobody taught it. What you'll hear in this episode: * Why the BCBA curriculum was built entirely around child behavior — and what got left out * The Toys R Us story: a real session, a real mom, ambivalence playing out in real time in the middle of a toy aisle — and what it revealed about everything we weren't taught * What ambivalence actually is, why it's normal, and why pushing harder against it always makes it worse * The difference between a non-compliant parent and an ambivalent one — and why that distinction changes everything about how you show up in sessions * The first introduction to Motivational Interviewing: what it is, where it came from, and why it maps so cleanly onto the exact problems BCBAs face with parents * Why MI isn't soft skills or intuition — it's an evidence-based method built specifically for working with ambivalent humans * A direct message to every BCBA who has ever left a parent session feeling like they failed 🔗 Free Resource: The AOA Approach — One-Page Guide [https://mailchi.mp/8a2aee5c7b5e/23cldo7ugk] The AOA approach is one of the most praised techniques from Monica's MI Bootcamp. It stands for: * Ask what they already know * Offer information with permission * Ask what they understood It's a structured way to give feedback and recommendations that protects your relationship with the parent, respects their autonomy, and actually lands. Download the free one-pager in the link below. You can use it in your next parent session. Learn more about Motivational Interviewing and explore on-demand courses at www.drmonicagilbert.com [https://drmonicagilbert.com/] Join the MI Academy [https://monica-gilbert.mykajabi.com/store] for practical training and resources — and enjoy an exclusive 15% off with code MIFORCHANGE at checkout. 📲 Connect with me on Instagram: @drmonicagilbert [https://www.instagram.com/drmonicagilbert/]

The Parent Is Your Real Intervention — Why Everything Else Is Secondary

Quick question: who is your client? If you said the child — you're right. And you're missing half the picture. Here's the math nobody talks about in BCBA programs: your child client spends maybe 10 to 20 hours a week in therapy. They spend 100 or more hours a week with their family. If the parent isn't carrying what you're building in session, you are fighting against 100 hours of counter-programming with 10 hours of intervention. That math doesn't work. It was never going to work. In this episode, Dr. Monica Gilbert shares two real families — one that stopped services because the behavior never generalized outside of sessions, and one that came from Ecuador with a nearly identical child profile and saw a complete turnaround in six weeks. Same diagnosis. Same presentation. Completely different outcome. The only variable that changed was the parent. Monica also names an uncomfortable truth that most people in this field already sense but nobody says out loud: most parent training sessions in ABA aren't actually parent training sessions. They're check-ins. And the difference between those two things is where child outcomes are actually determined. No frameworks yet. Just the truth about who your real intervention is — and why that realization changes everything. Learn more about Motivational Interviewing and explore on-demand courses at www.drmonicagilbert.com [https://drmonicagilbert.com/] Join the MI Academy [https://monica-gilbert.mykajabi.com/store] for practical training and resources — and enjoy an exclusive 15% off with code MIFORCHANGE at checkout. 📲 Connect with me on Instagram: @drmonicagilbert [https://www.instagram.com/drmonicagilbert/]

BCBA Burnout: Why the Parent Piece Is Draining You (And What to Do About It)

You went into this field because of the kids. The sessions with them — even the hard ones — leave you feeling something. Fulfilled. Purposeful. Like you're doing exactly what you were trained to do. But the parent sessions? That's a different story. If you've ever sat across from a parent — in person or on Zoom — and felt that slow crawl of frustration, that quiet defeat, that voice in your head saying why am I doing all of this if nothing is going to change — this episode is for you. In this episode of MI For Change, Dr. Monica Gilbert gets honest about where BCBA burnout is actually coming from. And it's not the kids. It's not the caseload. It's not even the documentation. It's the weight of carrying the entire parent piece on your back — the responsibility, the solutions, the follow-through — all of it. And nobody in your BCBA program ever told you that was happening. Monica shares a real Zoom session she sat in on with a fellow BCBA — what she watched unfold, what she was texting behind the scenes, and the moment she realized: you don't have to work this hard. Learn more about Motivational Interviewing and explore on-demand courses at www.drmonicagilbert.com [https://drmonicagilbert.com/] Join the MI Academy [https://monica-gilbert.mykajabi.com/store] for practical training and resources — and enjoy an exclusive 15% off with code MIFORCHANGE at checkout. 📲 Connect with me on Instagram: @drmonicagilbert [https://www.instagram.com/drmonicagilbert/]

How to Stop Shrinking in Conversations | Build Confidence with Motivational Interviewing

Most people think confidence is something you’re born with. It’s not. In this episode of MI For Change, Dr. Monica Gilbert breaks down the real reason you feel yourself shrinking in difficult conversations—and how to finally show up with confidence, clarity, and presence. Whether you're speaking to a client, parent, boss, or team member… that moment of overthinking, second-guessing, and wanting to “get it right” can take over fast. But here’s the shift: Confidence doesn’t come from controlling the conversation. It comes from knowing how to navigate it. In this episode, you’ll learn: * Why anxiety shows up in high-stakes conversations * How the “fixing reflex” actually makes you feel less confident * The mindset shift from control → curiosity * How to read the room using your “conversation thermometer” * What to say instead of correcting, confronting, or over-explaining * How to use simple MI tools like reflections and open-ended questions naturally You’ll also hear a real consultation example where a clinician struggled to “confront” a client—and how reframing the approach completely changed the conversation. This episode is for therapists, BCBAs, leaders, and professionals who want to: ✔ Speak with more confidence ✔ Reduce anxiety in conversations ✔ Build stronger relationships ✔ Stop overthinking what to say Because the goal isn’t to sound perfect… It’s to connect. Learn more about Motivational Interviewing and explore on-demand courses at www.drmonicagilbert.com [https://drmonicagilbert.com/] Join the MI Academy [https://monica-gilbert.mykajabi.com/store] for practical training and resources — and enjoy an exclusive 15% off with code MIFORCHANGE at checkout. 📲 Connect with me on Instagram: @drmonicagilbert [https://www.instagram.com/drmonicagilbert/]

Stop Fighting Resistance: The Real Reason Clients Push Back (Motivational Interviewing)

“Clients aren’t fighting you… they’re fighting to feel understood.” In this episode of MI4Change, Dr. Monica Gilbert breaks down one of the most misunderstood concepts in therapy, ABA, and leadership: resistance. Why do parents, clients, and even supervisees push back—even when they know the intervention works? It’s not defiance. It’s not lack of motivation. And it’s not something you need to “win.” In this episode, you’ll learn: * Why resistance is actually valuable information * How ambivalence (not defiance) drives client behavior * Why giving more advice often makes things worse * How to shift from fixing → evoking * The exact questions that help clients find their own solutions * How to reduce burnout by working smarter, not harder You’ll also hear a powerful strategy using future-based questions (the “miracle question”) to help parents connect present behavior to long-term goals—without confrontation. This episode is essential for therapists, BCBAs, psychologists, coaches, and leaders who want to: ✔ Improve client engagement ✔ Increase buy-in ✔ Reduce resistance ✔ Feel less frustrated in sessions Because the goal isn’t to convince people to change… It’s to help them want to change. Learn more about Motivational Interviewing and explore on-demand courses at www.drmonicagilbert.com [https://drmonicagilbert.com/] Join the MI Academy [https://monica-gilbert.mykajabi.com/store] for practical training and resources — and enjoy an exclusive 15% off with code MIFORCHANGE at checkout. 📲 Connect with me on Instagram: @drmonicagilbert [https://www.instagram.com/drmonicagilbert/]