OARS MI Technique — MRCPsych Paper B MCQ
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Correct answer: A — Open questions, Affirmations, Reflective listening, Summarising
OARS stands for Open questions, Affirmations, Reflective listening and Summarising. These communication skills support a collaborative, empathic motivational interviewing style: open questions encourage exploration, affirmations recognise strengths, reflections demonstrate understanding and help develop change talk, and summaries draw together the person's perspectives. Advice may sometimes be offered with permission but is not the A in OARS, excluding option E. Reframing and scaling questions can be useful techniques but do not replace reflective listening and summarising, excluding C. Observations, reassurance, assessment and shared planning are not the standard expansion, excluding D and E.
Reference: Department of Health and Social Care. Clinical guidelines for alcohol treatment, section 5.5.6: Structured support and motivational interventions. Updated 17 April 2026. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/clinical-guidelines-for-alcohol-treatment/5-psychosocial-interventions