YOUR WORK. YOUR PRACTICE.
Practice making space for the person's priorities as you discuss support, contact and next steps after stabilization.
After a crisis, a person may want to address a practical concern, understand a handoff or decide what contact would be helpful. These fictional situations focus on follow-up after stabilization, with an established role and purpose for each conversation.
Practice listening for the person's priorities, exploring support they want to consider and sharing information clearly. A useful exchange may clarify a question or responsibility before there is a decision about change.
Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a collaborative, goal-oriented way of talking that helps people explore and strengthen their own motivation for change. Careful listening, shared focus and respect for choice guide the conversation. These skills also help when the immediate task is to understand a concern, explain information or agree what happens next.
BECOMING WITHIN YOUR WORK
Crisis work can leave uncertainty and unfinished questions. In these follow-up situations, practice understanding the person’s present concern, explaining your contribution and clarifying the next contact. Reflection also makes room for the support and recovery time you need after demanding work.
A question to carry into practice
What needs a clear next step, and what support do I need to carry my part?
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) · Federal workforce guidance
Explore model values, competencies, supervision and ethical standards for crisis-care workforce development.
Explore the resources that fit your role, alongside your organization’s guidance and local credentialing requirements. These independent resources are offered for learning; their inclusion does not imply affiliation or endorsement.
CONVERSATIONS YOU CAN PRACTICE
Work with the practical priority the person brings to follow-up.
Understand what might help and which questions the person needs answered.
Clarify the person's wishes and what information-sharing arrangements need verification.
Discuss the stated service limits and make the next contact understandable.
The daily conversation rotates within your field. Additional conversation choices depend on your account's access.
FROM PRACTICE TO YOUR NEXT CONVERSATION
Have a short back-and-forth with a fictional partner. Get specific feedback on your responses, choose something to try next, and return to your saved conversations as you develop.
Notice how urgency influences your pace. Reflect on whether your next question helped you understand the person's present concern.
Build my practice home →WHY BECOMING MI
Becoming MI connects daily practice with the person and professional you want to become. Try a response, consider feedback, and carry something useful into your next conversation.
Your values, responsibilities and well-being meet in your work. We make room for that whole experience, including the resources and support you need.
Explore AMIGA’s approach to becoming →