There is relative consensus about the advantages of patient-centred consultations. However, they have not been easy to realise in clinical praxis. The aim of this study was to investigate whether an intervention focused on health care professionals' understanding of the diabetes-patient encounter could facilitate a patient-centred way to encounter these patients. Two GPs and two nurses participated in the year-long intervention. The intervention focused on the staff's understanding of the encounter. Staff video recorded four to five encounters each and reflected together with a supervisor on their understanding of the encounters and how they were conducted. The encounters were analysed with the Verona-MICS/Dr coding system and patients' comments were analysed separately. The content of the consultations and how they were conducted was also assessed. There was a significant change of two patient-centred items by the staff over time. Two staff seemed to change their educational model. Modern theories of competence development seem to be useful in clinical settings.