F

Feedback: Provide useful feedback based on screening. People are motivated to change when they get feedback on their personal situation. You can let clients know how their drinking patterns compare to the norm and the effects of drinking on their health and lives.

R

Responsibility: Rather than telling the client what he or she can and can’t do, emphasize personal responsibility and freedom to choose. "No one can change for you. It’s up to you." People are more likely to stick to changes when they have made a choice to change.

A

Advice: Give specific recommendations about how drinking patterns can be changed (e.g., drinking below the recommended limits of one drink per day or seven drinks per week).

M

Menu: Provide the client with options, such as reducing drinking or abstaining. This allows the person to be involved in the decisionmaking process and thus more willing to change. You can say, "Here are a number of approaches to dealing with drinking problems. Which one might work best for you?"

E

Empathy: A counselor who is warm, supportive, sympathetic, and attentive will be more motivational than one who is confrontational and aggressive with clients. Show an understanding of the older person’s goals and the role of alcohol in his or her life. This will help you identify ways to help the person make changes.

S

Self-Efficacy: The person must believe that he or she can change. Convey the message, "You can change." Encourage optimism.