In Motivational Interviewing, OARS stands for:

• A. Open-ended questions, Affirmation, Reflective Listening, Summarizing
• B. Open-ended questions, Reflective Listening, Affirmation, Summarizing
• C. Observation, Affirmation, Reflective Listening, Summarizing
• D. Open-ended questions, Affirmation, Reading, Summarizing

Answer: (C)

In Motivational Interviewing, the OARS approach includes four practices: Open-ended questions, Affirmations, Reflective Listening, and Summarizing. Open-ended questions invite the person to speak in their own words, explore ambivalence, and uncovers motivations for change rather than producing yes/no answers. Affirmations acknowledge strengths and efforts, helping to build self-efficacy and trust. Reflective listening shows you are accurately hearing their perspective, which deepens understanding and encourages the person to articulate their thoughts and feelings, particularly around change talk and concerns. Summarizing pulls together the main points from the conversation, reinforces what matters to the person, and clarifies next steps or goals. It’s worth noting that Observation isn’t part of this mnemonic, and options that include terms like Reading don’t align with how MI clinicians practice OARS. Practically, you can apply this by asking open-ended questions, offering sincere affirmations, using reflective statements to mirror their meanings, and finishing with a concise summary that reflects their goals and plan.