| Course | SOCW 6121 Advanced Clinical Practice II |
|---|---|
| Week | Week 5 |
| Paper type | Motivational interviewing transcript analysis |
| Length | About 1,070 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Walden University |
| Program | Master of Social Work (MSW) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for SOCW 6121 Week 5
Turn Twelve and What Followed: A Motivational Interviewing Transcript Analysis of a Session About a Logistics Certificate, Coding Worker Turns With MITI Categories and Client Turns as Change or Sustain Talk, Tracing the Sustain Talk That Followed Unsolicited Advice and Rewriting Two Turns
Student Name
Walden University
SOCW 6121: Advanced Clinical Practice II
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Turn Twelve and What Followed: A Motivational Interviewing Transcript Analysis of a Session About a Logistics Certificate, Coding Worker Turns With MITI Categories and Client Turns as Change or Sustain Talk, Tracing the Sustain Talk That Followed Unsolicited Advice and Rewriting Two Turns
The Session
This transcript comes from the fifth session with Dale, the composite client followed through the course. A brochure for a community college logistics certificate has been on his kitchen table for three weeks; he has not filled in the application. The session's aim was to explore his ambivalence about applying. Miller and Rollnick (2013) treat ambivalence as an ordinary stage of change, in which a person has reasons to change and reasons not to, both at once, and they present motivational interviewing as a way of drawing out and strengthening the client's own reasons and resolve. The excerpt below covers about eight minutes.
Coding Approach
Worker turns are coded using categories adapted from the Motivational Interviewing Treatment Integrity system, version 4.2.1, described by Moyers et al. (2016): open questions (OQ), closed questions (CQ), simple reflections (SR), complex reflections (CR), affirmations (AF) and giving information or advice without permission (ADV). Client turns are coded as change talk (CT), language in favor of change, or sustain talk (ST), language in favor of the status quo. Change talk is further sorted using the categories Miller and Rollnick (2013) describe: desire (D), ability (A), reasons (R), need (N) and commitment (C).
The Transcript
Table 1
Coded Transcript Excerpt, Session 5
| Turn | Dialogue | Code |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Worker: I noticed the brochure came up again when you were talking about your mornings. | SR |
| 2 | Dale: Yeah. It's still sitting there. | ST |
| 3 | Worker: What do you make of it sitting there? | OQ |
| 4 | Dale: Part of me wants to fill it out. I'd like to be doing something with my hands again. | CT (D) |
| 5 | Worker: You miss working with your hands. | SR |
| 6 | Dale: Twenty-seven years. I could fix anything on that floor. | CT (A) |
| 7 | Worker: You built a lot of skill, and it sounds like you're wondering if it could carry over. | CR |
| 8 | Dale: Maybe. Forklifts, scanners, I've used those. | CT (A) |
| 9 | Worker: What would make it worth doing? | OQ |
| 10 | Dale: Getting out of the house. Showing my kid I'm not done. | CT (R) |
| 11 | Dale: But I'd be the oldest one there by twenty years. | ST |
| 12 | Worker: The certificate is only twelve weeks, and the college says most graduates are placed within a few months, and warehouses are hiring, so it could really pay off. | ADV |
| 13 | Dale: That's what the brochure says. | ST |
| 14 | Dale: I don't know. Money's tight until August. | ST |
| 15 | Worker: Money's a real concern. | SR |
| 16 | Dale: And my back. I don't know if I can stand on concrete all day. | ST |
| 17 | Worker: So there are some things in the way. | SR |
| 18 | Dale: Maybe I'll look at it after the summer. | ST |
Dialogue is constructed for this composite case. Codes follow categories adapted from MITI 4.2.1 and the change talk categories in Miller and Rollnick (2013).
Tally
In the 18 turns, the worker used 2 open questions, 4 simple reflections, 1 complex reflection, no affirmations and 1 turn of advice without permission. Dale produced 4 change talk statements, all before turn 12 (one desire, two ability, one reasons), and 6 sustain talk statements, five of them from turn 11 onward. There was no commitment language.
The Critique: Turn Twelve
The excerpt divides at turn 12. Up to that point the conversation was moving toward change. Dale expressed desire to work with his hands, named abilities from his years on the plant floor and gave a reason that matters to him, showing his son he is "not done." The worker's open questions and reflections drew that language out. At turn 11 Dale voiced a concern about his age, which is ordinary ambivalence: a reason for the status quo set beside reasons for change.
At turn 12 the worker responded to that concern with a list of the certificate's benefits, offered without asking whether Dale wanted the information. Miller and Rollnick (2013) describe this as the "righting reflex," the helper's urge to fix a problem or argue for change, and they observe that when a helper takes up the case for change, the client tends to answer with the case against it. That is what followed. Dale's next five turns were all sustain talk: the brochure says that, money is tight, his back might not tolerate concrete floors, maybe after the summer. The worker's simple reflections in turns 15 and 17 acknowledged the obstacles but did not return the conversation to the reasons for change Dale had already given.
Research supports the importance of this pattern. Magill et al. (2018), in a meta-analysis of motivational interviewing process studies, found that MI-consistent therapist behaviors went along with more change talk from clients, and MI-inconsistent behaviors with more sustain talk, and that client change talk was in turn associated with outcomes. Turn 12 was an MI-inconsistent move, and the shift in Dale's language followed it.
Two Rewritten Turns
Rewritten turn 12: "You're worried about being the oldest one there, and at the same time you said you want to show your son you're not done. How do those two fit together for you?" This double-sided reflection holds both sides of the ambivalence and ends on the change side, inviting Dale to work out the tension himself rather than having the worker resolve it for him.
Rewritten turn 17: "Money and your back are real obstacles. Earlier you said you'd like to be doing something with your hands again. If those obstacles could be worked out, what would you want to do about the brochure?" This turn acknowledges the obstacles, recalls the desire Dale voiced, and asks a hypothetical question about commitment that does not require him to decide today.
What the Worker Takes Forward
The main lesson for the next session is to ask permission before offering information. If Dale wants to know about placement rates or the physical demands of warehouse work, the worker can offer them after asking, and can then ask what he makes of them. The session also showed that Dale's change talk was strongest about ability and reasons, which suggests building on his mechanical skill and his relationship with his son rather than on the job market's prospects.
References
Magill, M., Apodaca, T. R., Borsari, B., Gaume, J., Hoadley, A., Gordon, R. E. F., Tonigan, J. S., & Moyers, T. (2018). A meta-analysis of motivational interviewing process: Technical, relational, and conditional process models of change. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 86(2), 140-157. https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000250
Miller, W. R., & Rollnick, S. (2013). Motivational interviewing: Helping people change (3rd ed.). Guilford Press.
Moyers, T. B., Rowell, L. N., Manuel, J. K., Ernst, D., & Houck, J. M. (2016). The Motivational Interviewing Treatment Integrity Code (MITI 4): Rationale, preliminary reliability and validity. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 65, 36-42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2016.01.001
The Walden SOCW 6121 Week 5 instructions
Week 5 asks you to analyze a transcript from a motivational interviewing session, real with permission and identifying details removed, or constructed. Present the transcript in a two-column table, dialogue on the left and codes on the right. Code worker turns using a recognized system, such as the MITI categories, and client turns as change talk or sustain talk, sorting change talk by type. Tally the codes. Then write a critique centered on the turn that most affected the conversation, tracing what followed and explaining it with reference to motivational interviewing principles and research. Rewrite at least two turns to show a more consistent approach. Close with what you will carry into the next session.
Inside the SOCW 6121 Week 5 example
The certificate transcript sets out the session's aim, then the coding approach, citing Moyers and colleagues and Miller and Rollnick. The table codes eighteen turns, from a simple reflection about the brochure to Dale's "maybe I'll look at it after the summer." A tally reports two open questions, four simple reflections, one complex reflection and one advice turn, and four change and six sustain statements. The critique shows the conversation moving toward change until turn twelve, explains the righting reflex and links the shift to Magill and colleagues' findings. Two rewritten turns use a double-sided reflection and a hypothetical question, and a closing section commits to asking permission before giving information.
SOCW 6121 Week 5 rubric: what earns full marks
Most marks go to coding accuracy, and readers check a sample of codes against the definitions and look for consistent application, especially in distinguishing simple from complex reflections and change from sustain talk. The critique earns substantial credit when it locates a turning point and traces its effect on what followed, rather than evaluating turns in isolation. Rewritten turns should apply specific motivational interviewing skills and plausibly change the direction of the conversation. Use of research should support the interpretation. Analyses that code loosely, count without critiquing, criticize every worker turn equally, or rewrite turns in ways that still argue for change fall into the middle range.
SOCW 6121 Week 5 help: mistakes that cost marks
Transcribe the conversation accurately, then code each turn before you interpret anything. Use the coding manual's definitions and keep a note of hard calls. Count the codes and look at where change talk and sustain talk cluster; a shift often points to the turn worth critiquing. Ask what the worker did just before the shift. When rewriting, choose a specific skill, such as a double-sided reflection or a question asking permission, and write the turn as you would say it. Keep the critique focused on one or two turns. A tutor can review your coding, and the certificate transcript above shows the table, tally and rewrites. Keep a short log of hard coding calls, since your instructor may ask why a turn was coded as it was.
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SOCW 6121 Week 5 questions, answered
Where can I find a free SOCW 6121 Week 5 sample paper?
The coded certificate transcript, with its critique and rewrites, can be read above.
What turn does the SOCW 6121 Week 5 sample critique?
Turn twelve, where the worker listed the certificate's benefits without asking permission.
What followed turn twelve?
Five turns of sustain talk, about the brochure, money, his back and waiting until after summer.
What is the righting reflex?
Miller and Rollnick's term for a helper's urge to fix a problem or argue for change.
How are the turns rewritten?
As a double-sided reflection and a hypothetical question that returns to his own reasons for change.