The Monarch System™ Workshops

Our Workshops

For upcoming workshops and events, please go to the Events tab on our website.

Studies have found that one of the biggest challenges to using the principles of Motivational Interviewing (MI) is in finding practical and easy to use tools to put MI into action. The Monarch System’s unique and evidence-based approach brings the theory and principles of MI to life using a selection of effective behaviour change philosophies, theories, and practices.

If you ever feel that you are more interested or committed to your clients’ behaviour changes than they are, or that you are more concerned about their health-related behaviours than they are, this series of workshops can help to reduce the pressure felt by practitioners, while at the same time increasing the likelihood of client change – it’s a formula for win-win situations.

See our workshop description details below.  All workshops have been designed using principles for excellence in adult learning. In this regard, each workshop is designed to be interactive with substantial “hands-on” training, rather than being lectured to. And, for those who want more post-workshop readings, participants will also be directed to ample resources for additional theory, evidence, and practice information. In order to assess the participants’ perceived impact of what we do, please click on our most recent Level 1 workshop evaluation and on our most recent Level 3 Workshop Evaluation. For an evaluative summary of about 15 Monarch workshops Monarch Workshops’ Evaluation Summary.

**We offer both ‘open to all’ workshops as well as organizations-specific trainings at your venue – we’re happy to come to you!

As part of the dental public service in Ireland, we deliver dental care to a wide variety of children from different sectors of society. Sometimes when one is caught up in numbers, often patients and their needs can be forgotten. The Motivational Interviewing workshop, even though only a one day course, has had a profound impact on our staff of experienced dental professionals. It reminded us with a ‘bang’ that patients and their needs should be at the centre of all the care we provide and that perhaps a lot of times in the ‘production line’ we forget that they are real people. As an example, one of my colleagues and I had a recent experience with MI and a patient that has really blown us away. It involved a very stressed, irate mother. As the manager at our practice, I was called in. As the situation was going no where, eventually we remembered to use our MI skills and it was dramatic how the MI ‘technique’ worked within seconds really and the mother left very happy and almost best friends with us. The lesson we learned is that if we had used the ‘MI tools’ earlier the problem would not have escalated, so we are totally sold.The tools learned can be used immediately in practice and we are already amazed at how powerful they are in situations that before seemed hopeless to the professional. The feeling before doing the workshop was that this would mean longer appointments for patients; however, in fact, the opposite seems true, more effective communication means more effective use of time.Jen and Don are brilliant communicators and the workshop is really enjoyable.
Evelyn Crowley, Principal Dental Surgeon, North Lee Dental Services, Cork, Ireland

Level 1: Introduction to Motivational Interviewing (MI)

This introductory full day session provides a meaningful overview of MI using the Monarch System’s unique approach which integrates MI with other impactful behaviour change practices such as coaching methods and key elements of behaviour change theories/applications. Most importantly, we will explore and help you to acquire applied techniques to use with your clients in your day-to-day practice. You will learn how to build motivation and transition that enhanced motivation into a strengthened and real commitment to healthier behaviours. We will teach you different ways to use such elements as presence, competence views, compelling questions, reflective listening, change talk, tagging values onto desired behaviour changes, and moving with apparent-resistance in service of your patients’ needs for long- term goal setting and commitment to change.

One Day Workshop

Level 1: Intensive Introduction to Motivational Interviewing (MI)

This intensive introductory two-day session provides the same overview and tools as the basic level 1, and also includes extensive practice and feedback opportunities that are particularly helpful for the seamless transition of the tools to workshop participants’ practice lives. Specifically, the Level 1 two-day intensive workshop provides a meaningful overview of MI using the Monarch System’s unique approach which integrates MI with other impactful behaviour change practices such as coaching methods and key elements of behaviour change theories and applications. Most importantly, we will explore and help you to acquire applied techniques to use with your clients in your day-to-day practice. You will learn how to build motivation and transition that enhanced motivation into a strengthened and real commitment to healthier behaviours. We will teach you different ways to use such elements as presence, competence views, compelling questions, reflective listening, change talk, tagging values onto desired behaviour changes, and moving with apparent resistance in service of your clients’ health-related behaviours in lifelong care. Numerous practice and feedback opportunities are integrated into the workshop to support the immediate integration of new tools within participants’ professional lives.

Two Day Workshop

Level 2: Advanced Workshop on Motivational Interviewing (MI)

This advanced workshop builds on either of our Introductory (Level 1 full-day or 2-day intensive) MI workshops. Participants need to have completed Monarch’s Level 1 workshop or equivalent (click here to view the MI skills covered in our Level 1 course). Specifically, the Monarch System’s Level 2 offering is designed to help health practitioners work with patients/clients who are overwhelmed, stuck behaviourally, and/or seem highly resistant to change. Many clients are trapped in a view that they cannot change their behaviours, and this workshop focuses on helping free clients from this experience, in service of fostering meaningful health-related behaviour changes. The workshop includes amplified MI video examples; along with additional participant MI practice; and feedback opportunities to support the immediate integration of the new advanced tools within participants’ professional and personal lives. This workshop can be contracted as a full-day, two half-days, or a 2-day (or half-days’ equivalent) intensive workshop; the latter, intensive workshop offers a great deal more practice-learning opportunities and MI feedback from the facilitators.

 

Level 3: Progressive Workshop on Motivational Interviewing (MI)

Similar to the previous levels of training, the Level 3 Progressive training builds from the previous offerings and is both interactive and “hands-on”. It is open to health professionals who have completed Monarch’s Level 1 and Level 2 workshop trainings or equivalent (a reminder of our level 1 and 2 skills’ taught is available here). This offering is particularly helpful when practitioners feel they have tried everything else, and the client is seemingly committed to not changing. The ‘progressive’ nature of the workshop is such that we want to design the event around participants’ experiences using MI and your needs re enhancing, honing, and cementing your MI knowledge and practical skills in service of best impacts on your clients/patients. To that end, prior to the workshop dates, registered participants will be asked to complete a set of questions from a Survey Monkey link. For example, we want to know what MI tools you have used most frequently; what issues have arisen in using MI with your clients; and what would make a level 3 MI workshop useful to you. Consistent with our MI workshops, there will be lots of MI demonstrations; opportunities to practice previously learned and new MI skills in partnerships and/or small groups; and to participate in large group discussions and question-answering sessions.

One Day Workshop

Booster Sessions

Booster or “reminder” sessions are often useful in helping to ensure practitioners’ comfort as they become accustomed to integrating MI into their toolboxes. Booster sessions are often most useful about one month after any of the workshop offerings as this gives practitioners enough time to work with and practice the tools, and know what they are feeling challenged to integrate. That being said, the booster session offering can happen at any time the need arises. Typically these sessions are half to a full-day, depending on the needs of the group.

Half to full day

Practice Shadowing

Following the completion of levels 1, 2, and 3 (either basic or intensive options), The Monarch System offers the opportunity to have our consultants shadow practitioners in real-time while interacting with clients in typical practice situations. The feedback received through this service is invaluable for taking practitioners’ MI use to its most effective heights.

Duration is tailored for each practitioner’s or practice’s needs.

As part of the dental public service in Ireland, we deliver dental care to a wide variety of children from different sectors of society. Sometimes when one is caught up in numbers, often patients and their needs can be forgotten. The Motivational Interviewing workshop, even though only a one day course, has had a profound impact on our staff of experienced dental professionals. It reminded us with a ‘bang’ that patients and their needs should be at the centre of all the care we provide and that perhaps a lot of times in the ‘production line’ we forget that they are real people. As an example, one of my colleagues and I had a recent experience with MI and a patient that has really blown us away. It involved a very stressed, irate mother. As the manager at our practice, I was called in. As the situation was going no where, eventually we remembered to use our MI skills and it was dramatic how the MI ‘technique’ worked within seconds really and the mother left very happy and almost best friends with us. The lesson we learned is that if we had used the ‘MI tools’ earlier the problem would not have escalated, so we are totally sold.The tools learned can be used immediately in practice and we are already amazed at how powerful they are in situations that before seemed hopeless to the professional. The feeling before doing the workshop was that this would mean longer appointments for patients; however, in fact, the opposite seems true, more effective communication means more effective use of time.Jen and Don are brilliant communicators and the workshop is really enjoyable.
Evelyn Crowley, Principal Dental Surgeon, North Lee Dental Services, Cork, Ireland