PSYCHOLOGY

STRATEGIES FOR ENHANCING MOTIVATION FOR REHABILITATION ADHERENCE

What is motivation? How do we get motivated? How do we develop it in ourselves, and others? What motivates us?

Motivation is recognised as being a fundamental factor in achieving anything, and most would agree that motivation level has an impact on the effectiveness of the rehabilitation process - for both the practitioner and the patient!

In this article, a pre-cursor to a workshop presentation I am running for sportEX (see end of article for details), you will find a brief introduction to some techniques and approaches for motivating others that you can apply to the clients that you are working with, drawn largely from the human performance psychology, NLP (neuro-linguistic programming). The primary intention is to raise awareness of such approaches and to develop your interest in the possibilities, and the useful- ness that they provide, such that you will want to find out more, whether through further reading (see references), or by undertaking training in NLP.

Steve Ward B.Ed (Hons), performance ponsultant

WHAT IS NLP? Neuro-linguistic programming is a powerful body of information about how the human mind works, built up since the 1970s and continuing to evolve through new research. You are likely to find many different descriptions of NLP. The quote below gives one example.

Imagine buying your new home computer, getting it home, open- ing it up with great excitement only to find that there were no instructions. Whether you buy a computer, a DVD player, a camera, or even a lego set, one thing that you can be guaranteed is that you will receive a set of instructions. If you consider the human mind as the world’s most advanced computer, isn’t it frightening that none of us were given an instruction manual! NLP has evolved to provide ‘the users manual to the brain’.

“At the heart of NLP is a wide range of methods and models for understanding how people think, behave and change. It offers a flexible approach which brings about positive, fast change in individuals and organisations and empowers them to adapt to an ever-shifting world.”

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