The Centre for Addictions and Mental Health

Introduction

These guidelines were prepared by a multidisciplinary team led by psychiatrist Dr. Daniela Lobo at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), as part of a pilot project funded by Gambling Research Exchange Ontario (GREO). This team reviewed empirical research on emotional regulation in problem gambling as well as clinical workbooks on the development of emotional regulation skills, merging current evidencebased treatment protocols with gambling-specific research and clinical expertise. It is anticipated that the resulting session outlines may be revised further based on feedback from clinicians implementing them as well as the clients we serve.

Context: This handout outlines some of the skills and techniques used in Motivational Interviewing (MI) primarily to build a relationship with others and create a space of open communication. It is important to note that these skills here are intended to provide a framework or a style of communication you can use with your son or daughter. The goal is to create a collaborative partnership which in turn allows your teenager to explore all sides of a change in their behaviour - the costs and benefits of changing their tech use/gaming or not changing it. MI is also used to strengthen a person's commitment to change but is not a set of techniques to "trick" a person into making changes. The techniques described herein are core interviewing skills in MI and they are to be used with a non-judgmental, collaborative spirit.