FindingAffirmation.pdf

~~~ ~ ~~-J·. ~ I~ Finding Affirmations
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In this activity you will read about a client situation, consider the situation, write down the strengths you observe, then
form affirmations based on these strengths. Try to use “you” language.

A person with diabetes recently switched to using an insulin pump and has been having alternating high and low blood
sugar levels. She is checking her blood glucose levels at least eight times daily and is using the pump to deliver extra
insulin as she needs it, but this may also be causing the highs and lows as she tries to correct for problems. She is being
awakened by low blood sugar in the middle of the night. Her diabetes educator tried to talk with her about this pattern,
and she responded by noting that it was their idea that she go on the pump.

1. Strengths:

2. Affirmation:

This young man stands before the juvenile justice judge for the third time in less than ayear. He was arrested for posses­
sion of marijuana. He was hanging out with agroup of other homeless young people on the avenue when some college
students started hassling them. He jumped in and a brawl ensued. As the police anived and broke up the fight, his bag
of weed fell out of his pocket. He takes an insolent attitude in the courtroom each time he is there.

1. Strengths:

2. Affirmation:

A hanied executive complains that she is struggling to manage the many tasks in her life. She is always tired and finds
it a struggle to get out of bed when the alarm goes off at 5 A.M. She finds herself drinking more than she did a few years
ago just to unwind at the end of the night, after the kids are in bed and the last e-mails of the day have been sent. Her
husband is worried about her stress, but his attempts to talk about its impact are met with snarling responses about her
needing to wear the pants in the family.

1. Strengths:

2. Affirmation:

(cont.)

From Building Motivational Interviewing Skills: A Practitioner Workbook by David B. Rosengren. Copyright 2009 by The Guilford Press. Permission to
photocopy this exercise is granted to purchasers of this book for personal use only (see copyright page for details).

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Finding Affirmations (p. 2 of 2)

Elmer is 95. He Jives alone but now resides in a facility with assisted care available. He attends exercise groups intermit­
tently and enjoys interacting with neighbors. He comes to family gatherings but has trouble hearing in group situations
and so often feels isolated. Increasingly forgetful, he requires that things be explained repeatedly. To his son, the recipi­
ent of these repeated requests and his father’s frequent complaints, these communications feel manipulative.

1. Strengths:

2. Affirmation:

Trudy smokes. She knows it isn’t good for her and is fed up with people reminding her of it. Over time, she has come to
realize that her social habit has moved to a full-fledged addiction. At some point, she wi/1 stop, butjust not yet. Indeed,
with all the other things happening in her life, this is the one area she feels is her own. She feels guilty about and tries
to hide it from her son and avoids the topic with her husband. She knows he’s right when he brings it up, but it sti/1
raises her ire.

1. Strengths:

2. Affirmation:

Amos is a “man’s man.” As he puts it, “I work for a Jiving.” He hangs steel on high-rise buildings. He works in an envi­
ronment where one false step could lead to a ve,y Jong fall. He doesn’t take crap from anyone, including his superiors,
and this has cost him at times. His wife complains about his being distant, and he’s not even sure he knows what that
means. Although he does Jove her and tells her so, he also is annoyed by her constant nattering and demands that he
talk more. He buys flowers for her, watches her programs on TV occasionally, and does his “honey do” list faithfully.
He finds himself becoming increasingly omery when she demands that he go to counseling to learn to communicate
better. Last night he swore at her when she again brought up counseling, and now he feels guilty, but he doesn’t want
to “give in” either.

1. Strengths:

2. Affirmation:

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