MI for Change: Motivational Interviewing in ABA & Mental Health

MI for Change is the podcast dedicated to exploring Motivational Interviewing (MI) in behavior analysis and mental health. Hosted by Dr. Monica Gilbert, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and Licensed Psychologist, this show helps professionals transform client conversations — one question at a time. Each episode delivers: ✨ Practical MI strategies you can apply immediately in sessions ✨ Real case examples that bring concepts to life ✨ Inspiring interviews with experts across ABA and mental health Whether you’re an ABA practitioner, therapist, counselor, or student, you’ll discover how simple shifts in communication can reduce resistance, strengthen rapport, and spark lasting change. Because parent coaching and client conversations don’t have to feel like a struggle — they can be the spark that makes transformation possible. Subscribe today and join the journey to becom

MI for Change: Motivational Interviewing in ABA & Mental Health is a health podcast hosted by Monica Gilbert, with 51 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Monica Gilbert hosts MI for Change: Motivational Interviewing in ABA & Mental Health, a health show with 51 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #50

  The Missing Ingredient in Your Parent Training Sessions

  Aug 18, 202610 minS3

  You have the curriculum. You have the motivation. You've taken a course, learned the techniques, told yourself you're going to use open-ended questions and affirmations and reflections in your next parent session. And it still feels like something is missing. In this episode Dr. Monica Gilbert opens with a story about trying to bake a protein pizza — having almost every ingredient, skipping the one she didn't have, and ending up with a quiche. The metaphor is sharper than it sounds: in parent training sessions, knowing the tools isn't the same as knowing how to combine them. And it's the combination that makes the difference between a session with good rapport and a session where the parent actually moves. This episode covers the most important reframe of the entire arc: are you doing parent training TO the parent — or WITH and FOR the parent? One word changes everything about how you show up in the room. Monica also introduces the relationship between OARS and the four MI processes — how knowing where a parent is in the change process tells you exactly which tool to use, how much of it, and when. Not just what the tools are. When to use them. Next episode: the full breakdown of how to apply OARS across each of the four processes. Learn more about Motivational Interviewing and explore on-demand courses at www.drmonicagilbert.com Join the MI Academy for practical training and resources — and enjoy an exclusive 15% off with code MIFORCHANGE at checkout. Connect with me on Instagram: @drmonicagilbert

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  Episode #49

  Why Stalled Cases Aren't a Clinical Problem — They're a System Problem

  Aug 11, 202615 minS3

  You're in a case review. The graphs are flattening. The child is making progress in session — treatment integrity is high, IOA is high, the programs look solid. But every goal that depends on what happens outside of therapy hasn't moved in months. Your first instinct is to modify the intervention. Change the prompting hierarchy. Adjust the reinforcement. Look at the function. Sometimes that's right. But sometimes the data is pointing somewhere else entirely — and most agencies aren't structured to see it. In this episode, Dr. Monica Gilbert speaks directly to agency owners and clinical directors about a pattern she has seen across clinics, across clinicians, and across diagnoses: excellent progress during sessions, minimal progress outside of them. The same outcome, over and over, in cases with completely different treatment plans. And the reason, when she finally looked at it honestly, wasn't clinical. It wasn't a family problem either. It was a system problem. This episode covers what most agencies audit for versus what actually predicts long-term outcomes, why parent coaching consistently becomes an afterthought at the end of supervision visits, and the one question Monica gave a BCBA last week that immediately changed how she was approaching a case she'd been stuck on for months. Free AOA guide for you. Learn more about Motivational Interviewing and explore on-demand courses at www.drmonicagilbert.com Join the MI Academy for practical training and resources — and enjoy an exclusive 15% off with code MIFORCHANGE at checkout. Connect with me on Instagram: @drmonicagilbert

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  Episode #48

  Why Most CEUs Don't Change How You Practice — And What Actually Does

  Aug 4, 202611 minS3

  Have you ever finished a CEU training thinking it was genuinely good — took notes, highlighted the slides, told yourself you'd use it with your families — and then three months later couldn't remember what the presenter actually taught? Most continuing education doesn't fail because the information is bad. It fails because information alone rarely changes behavior. And as behavior analysts, we already know this. We know our clients need practice, feedback, repetition, and reinforcement before new skills generalize. We just somehow expect ourselves to learn differently. In this episode Dr. Monica Gilbert gets honest about the gap between attending a training and actually changing how you practice — including a two-day workshop she was genuinely excited about, bought the book for, and then quietly stopped using when life became life. She also shares why Motivational Interviewing has stayed with her in a way that most other trainings haven't — not because it's inspiring, but because it's structured. It gives you a roadmap, decision points, specific questions, and techniques you can use in your very next session. One of those techniques — the AOA approach — is demonstrated live in this episode through a real session with a skeptical ABA parent who came in having heard everything negative about the field on social media. Free AOA guide . Grab it and use it this week. Learn more about Motivational Interviewing and explore on-demand courses at www.drmonicagilbert.com Join the MI Academy for practical training and resources — and enjoy an exclusive 15% off with code MIFORCHANGE at checkout. Connect with me on Instagram: @drmonicagilbert

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  Episode #47

  Don't Try to Impress, Try to Connect

  Jul 28, 202633 minS2

  Why do parents keep agreeing with you in session — and doing nothing at home? If you've ever asked yourself that, this episode is for you. Dr. Monica Gilbert sits down with Jany Bello, M.Ed, BCBA, LBA — founder of Exceptional Minds ABA — to talk about the real reasons behind parent follow-through, why the fix-it reflex BCBAs are trained to use is often the thing killing rapport, and what motivational interviewing actually looks like in a parent coaching session versus what most of us were taught. They also get into the BCBA-RBT relationship — the breakdown, the burnout, and the three questions every supervisor should be asking before giving any feedback at all. Whether you're a BCBA struggling with parent buy-in, an RBT trying to find your voice, or a supervisor who wants a team that actually trusts you — this conversation is going to hit. Don't try to impress. Try to connect. That's the episode in one line. Find Jany at Exceptional Minds ABA for RBT and BCBA exam prep, ABA education content, and straight-talk advocacy for the field. Learn more about Motivational Interviewing and explore on-demand courses at www.drmonicagilbert.com Join the MI Academy for practical training and resources — and enjoy an exclusive 15% off with code MIFORCHANGE at checkout. Connect with me on Instagram: @drmonicagilbert

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  Episode #45

  When You're a BCBA, You're All Alone

  Jul 14, 202612 minS2

  A parent said something to Dr. Monica Gilbert after a session that she's never forgotten. She wasn't criticizing. She wasn't feeling sorry. She simply looked at Monica and said: "When you're a BCBA, you're all alone." In this episode, Monica talks about the part of clinical work no graduate program prepares you for -- the emotional weight of being the person everyone runs to, the isolation that hides behind productivity, and the cost of carrying uncertainty without anyone to process it with. She shares what finally changed her thinking, the story of a BCBA-D colleague who burned out and left the field entirely, and four concrete things you can do to build the support structure the profession doesn't build for you. Plus: a free resource in the show notes that makes some of your hardest conversations with parents and staff feel lighter immediately. Remember how lonely your first year felt. Sometimes the most valuable supervision isn't an answer -- it's helping someone realize they're asking completely normal questions. "Great clinicians aren't the ones who never need support. They're the ones wise enough to build it." That parent was only half right. The role can feel lonely. But it doesn't have to stay that way. The moment we start talking about it, the isolation loses some of its power. Free resource: grab the AOA guide -- a small, practical communication tool that can immediately make some of your conversations with parents and staff feel lighter and more collaborative. Download it and use it this week. Learn more about Motivational Interviewing and explore on-demand courses at www.drmonicagilbert.com Join the MI Academy for practical training and resources — and enjoy an exclusive 15% off with code MIFORCHANGE at checkout. 📲 Connect with me on Instagram: @drmonicagilbert

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