Preface

Introduction to the Contents and How They Might Be Used to Develop Your Skills

This book is designed to support anyone whose main element of their work is animal health, care, or welfare as well as those who come across animal welfare issues as part of their wider roles. You may need animal owners to make changes for the welfare of their animals, and perhaps for their own good and that of others or even communities and the environment.

It is designed to be accessible and suitable for all types of workers, including those employed in animal health, care, welfare, veterinary work, charities, rescues or volunteering, those having to enforce animal welfare legislation, and those in associated agencies who come across animal welfare cases such as environmental health, trading standards, and housing workers.

For all of us, changing behaviour is difficult. When we work with others, especially in animal health and welfare, we desperately need people to change their behaviours for the well‐being of animals. But behaviour change is not easy for anyone, and few people respond well to being told what to do and that they need to make changes.

No book can take the place of learning face‐to‐face, especially with the skills required for supporting behaviour change, including one of the main interventions described in this book, motivational interviewing (MI). However, it is hoped that working through the chapters will help the reader think about themselves as well as others, and about how we all make changes and then to consider what skills work and what don’t and how we can build on our existing abilities to support others to make changes.

This book is the culmination of several decades of teaching the intervention called MI to health and social care staff and more recently, to animal welfare workers. It has come out of the author’s interest in how human mental health can be affected, for good or for ill, by animal ownership or responsibility for animals. The author is a mental health nurse who has worked clinically in the NHS for many decades as well as an educator both in the NHS and in higher education and as an independent trainer for animal welfare agencies. She also volunteered as an equine welfare worker for over 30 years and used the techniques she teaches in that work.

MI was initially developed as an intervention for those with substance misuse problems and its use has moved into a number of other human health areas such as working with those with other addictive behaviours (e.g. gambling) and within smoking cessation programmes. It hadn’t been recognised as an intervention that can transfer across to supporting those who need, or are required, to make changes in their behaviour for the well‐being, welfare, and health of animals. As a mental health nurse trained in MI and then delivering training to mental health colleagues, the author found herself automatically using MI approaches and skills when undertaking equine volunteer work over three decades. Conversations about MI occurred with other equine welfare workers and the organisations that they worked for. Now, the MI training courses have been adapted and developed specifically for those who work with animal owners and carers. This book is based on, and supports, those courses. Much of the content of this book has come about through the experiences of teaching MI to a wide range of people, listening to how they go on to use it in their own practice, and also the author’s own human clinical work and animal welfare experience. Many of the examples given in this book are from those who have successfully transferred the ideas and skills to their own work.

Many people have helped the author along this road, not least as her co‐trainers over the years, especially Keith Noble, Beth Stranks, and Kelly Skinner, with whom many conversations have helped form or develop the ideas here and who are mentioned specifically in places in the book. Many people from the international equine charity World Horse Welfare have shared their experiences of learning and using MI in their welfare work and supported the development of MI in the animal welfare arena. Specifically, Sam Chubbock, who really ‘gets it’ and has been a co‐trainer as well as one of the author’s writing buddies. Also, Claire Gordon who first identified that the author’s ideas could be used within World Horse Welfare; and Tony Tyler and Roly Owers who supported this work and have been so enthusiastic about its use in the organisation. Finally, a friend, Ian Glass whose greatest support was just listening when it was most needed.

How to Develop the Skills Described in This Book

Throughout the book, you will find suggestions of how you might take elements, techniques, or approaches and practice them. Try finding willing friends, family, and colleagues to help you and who will allow you to practice with them. Almost everyone likes to talk about what they might change in their lives, especially their own health behaviour changes. This means that we can usually find people who will help us on our journey of learning about how to support others to make changes. But bear in mind that it can be very hard to practice with those closest to us. Often, we have a vested interest in a possible change, so sometimes family members especially, and others we are close to, can be more challenging for us personally than some of those we might come in contact with at work or in our other roles.

The ideas and approaches described in this book are not designed to manipulate people into doing what we want, so please undertake any practice openly and for the right reasons. That said, when we ask others for support when we are learning new techniques, very few will say no. I have had a few people report back after practicing some of the skills on their partners that it was not easy, even when the partner had agreed to help them practice. One student who decided to try the skills on their husband, but without telling him, had the response, ‘Why are you being weird?’ Although it was funny and made her colleagues in the training group laugh when she shared it, this demonstrates that people, especially those who know us well, will pick up very quickly that we are being ‘different’.

Therefore, look for opportunities to practice with people, be prepared to ask them for help in supporting you in using new approaches. People can be very generous in their time and help, so use it. I suggest you look for those who may aid you to practice the techniques in the early stages, who will work with you and are not as complex as some of your other work.

Many of us come to behaviour change and MI courses, literature, or a book like this looking for the key, or the magic wand, to resolving the most difficult cases or owners that we have. I suggest that instead, we start with those who will be slightly easier for us. I liken this approach to that of learning to drive. When we start out on our first driving lessons, we usually have a suitable smaller, lower‐powered car (some of us may have started out on ancient tractors). We wouldn’t put a learner driver in a high‐powered sports car. We give them a chance to learn with something that isn’t so tricky and is more forgiving to errors and adjustments. Therefore, I suggest you find people to practice with or to try out the skills with who are the least complex of your clients, owners, or friends and family. Learn with a Ford Fiesta or an Opal Corsa, not a Ferrari!

Get feedback from anyone you can find to practice with. Many of the suggested exercises in the book can be used with willing friends, family, and colleagues. But our greatest feedback can be from our clients and owners, so ask their views about what helped, what didn’t, and what they think we might have done differently. When asked, clients can be very generous with their help. Also, be realistic about what you can learn in a short period of time, and give yourself opportunities to practice, refine your skills and adapt the new ideas and techniques into your own particular style of working.

It can be, at the very least, disheartening and frustrating to feel that we are working with people who won’t or don’t do what we recommend or advise. Over time, this can wear any one of us down and affect how we feel about our role and its worth. The good news is that those who I have taught MI to over the decades, often report that they enjoy their work more, it is less stressful, and that they experience more job satisfaction and less friction with their clients and other colleagues.

Learning to use different methods to support others to make behaviour changes is in itself a behaviour change for us. Therefore, we need to use with ourselves the same approaches and attitudes described in this book when we endeavour to make changes and learn new skills. Everything takes practice, effort and thought and that is very much the case when changing our approaches and the ways that we work with others. Be kind and compassionate to yourself, be prepared to have a go, try out new ideas, and techniques and reflect when they work and when they don’t work so well. Be curious, and prepared for the unexpected. Find a little time to reflect on your practice. Perhaps even write down some notes or use a journal. As professionals, we all need to reflect on our practice. But, be balanced in your reflections, think about what skills you do already have, and how the ideas offered here in this book add to and build on those skills.

Remember, change isn’t...