What is motivating about motivational interviewing?

Have you ever felt like it is groundhog day? You are having the same conversation with the same patient and with the same outcomes. You are being very sympathetic and trying hard to help the patient make positive changes. But every suggestion you make garners the response: “Yes but I can’t do that because…”, “Yes but I’ve tried that”, “Yes but my friend said there was a tablet I could take”. That “yes but” is an indicator that motivational interviewing (MI) is likely to be helpful.