Motivational Interviewing (MI) is defined as “a particular way of talking with people about change and growth to strengthen their own motivation and commitment” (Miller & Rollnick, 2023, p. 3). MI is designed to evoke and enhance the individual’s own motivation to change, using strategies that are empathetic and non-confrontational. While it has long been recognized as an effective way to promote behavior change within individuals in substance use treatment, MI has a wide range of applications beyond the clinician-client interaction. MI is designed to help draw out the individual’s own strengths and resources to help them make the behavioral changes needed to reach their goals. In this introductory training, participants will learn about spirit of MI and its basic skills and strategies, and will have the opportunity to apply and practice those core skills in an experiential skill-development training.
Objectives:
- Describe key aspects of the spirit of motivational interviewing as well as its relation to the transtheoretical model and the importance of effective engagement
- Describe the core skills of motivational interviewing, including open-ended questions, affirmations, reflections, and summaries
- Generate effective responses consistent with motivational interviewing to draw out and highlight the individual’s own desire, ability, reasons, and need to change
- Demonstrate application of concept as well as use of core motivational interviewing skills in practice activities