What it captures
It captures the target behavior, 0-to-10 importance and confidence ratings, and client explanations linked to each rating.
Readiness Ruler for Motivational Interviewing
Readiness Ruler is a motivational interviewing conversation aid for practitioners working with clients considering personal behavior change. It helps the practitioner record 0-to-10 importance and confidence ratings and capture the client-generated language that explains those ratings.
Try a sample ruler conversation and review the result.
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Tool guide
Learn more about this tool
Use this background section to understand when the tool fits, how practitioners use it, and what to consider before sharing it with clients.
Repeated use
Prior ratings can be shown as historical context only when the same target behavior and ruler dimension are repeated.
Important limitation
The tool does not calculate readiness categories, clinical conclusions, or prescribed next steps.
Is the Readiness Ruler a score?
No. It records importance and confidence ratings, but the MI-relevant result includes the client's own explanations for those ratings.
What if the client does not choose a number?
The tool can record no rating and capture the client's explanation without forcing a score.
Can I compare ratings over time?
Yes, when the same target behavior and same ruler dimension are repeated. Different change focuses should be kept separate.
What happens if I enter a rating without follow-up language?
The result is marked incomplete for MI use because the client explanation is part of the tool's core mechanic.