{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,11,3]],"date-time":"2026-11-03T13:32:22Z","timestamp":1793712742323,"version":"4.6.1"},"reference-count":10,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,11]],"date-time":"2026-10-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1791676800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Journal of Palliative Medicine"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,12,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Patients facing serious illness may experience ambivalence about important treatment decisions, sharing information with loved ones, or, perhaps most consequentially, living in a way that is aligned with their values. Motivational interviewing (MI) is a collaborative, person-centered communication style that explores ambivalence by eliciting a patient\u2019s motivations, values, and goals. MI offers a practical framework for serious illness communication (SIC), when patients and families often experience competing priorities and uncertainty. Through a clinical case, this article explores the four fundamental processes of MI\u2014engaging, focusing, evoking, and planning\u2014and reframes these concepts through a SIC lens. We highlight the application and adaptation of micro-skills (open-ended questions, affirmations, reflective listening, and summaries) to deepen understanding, explore ambivalence, and support values-concordant decision making. Integrating MI-informed communication strategies into serious illness care provides clinicians with practical tools to navigate ambivalence, foster collaboration, and evoke a patient\u2019s intrinsic motivation for decisions aligned with their values.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/10966218261492375","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,12]],"date-time":"2026-10-12T05:13:53Z","timestamp":1791782033000},"page":"1748-1753","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Ambivalence: Motivational Interviewing Informed Communication for Serious Illness Care"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"29","author":[{"given":"Mike","family":"Polisso","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Stanford Health Care, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-6219-7619","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Danielle","family":"Chammas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Palliative Medicine, Department of Medicine, UCSF, San Francisco, California, USA."},{"name":"Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UCSF, San Francisco, California, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Caroline","family":"Nattinger","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine, Kaiser San Francisco Medical Center, San Francisco, California, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Keri O.","family":"Brenner","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine, Section of Palliative Care, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jennifer","family":"DiBiase","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"NYU Langone Health, New York, New York, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sarah","family":"Byrne-Martelli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Supportive Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Brianna","family":"Williamson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Palliative Medicine, Department of Medicine, UCSF, San Francisco, California, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_2_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/S1352465822000431"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1089\/jpm.2010.0495"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1001\/jamainternmed.2022.5074"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jpainsymman.2015.02.003"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_6_1","volume-title":"Motivational Interviewing: Helping People Change and Grow","author":"Miller WR","year":"2023","unstructured":"5.Miller WR, , Rollnick S. 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