What is Motivational Interviewing?
A brief overview of Motivational InterviewingWilliam Miller and Stephen Rollnick offer the following definition of MI...
Motivational Interviewing a particular way of talking with people about change and growth to strengthen their own motivation and commitment. The approach invites clinicians to step out of the expert, directive role into one characterized more by closely listening and gently guiding people. The way of relating, (aka the Spirit of MI) is captured in the acroynym PACE:
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Bill Miller and Steven Rollnick answer the question "What is MI?"
An overview of what is new in the 2023 edition of the book Motivational Interviewing: Helping People Change and Grow.
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Clinical application
MI is being increasingly applied to a broad range of presenting issues. If there is a change to be made, and especially if ambivalence is involved, MI may be of value.
For the clinician learning MI, the stages (or tasks) of learning MI identified by Miller and Moyers (2006) can be a helpful guide:
For the clinician learning MI, the stages (or tasks) of learning MI identified by Miller and Moyers (2006) can be a helpful guide:
- Overview: Spirit of MI
- OARS: Client-centred counseling skills, including elicit-provide-elicit and resisting the Righting Reflex
- Recognising change talk and resistance (now conceptualized as sustain talk and discord)
- Eliciting and strengthening change talk
- Developing a change plan
- Consolidating commitment
- Transition and belonging: Integrating MI with other approaches
Training
For those training MI, there is also a body of research investigating what works in training. MINT offers some considerations on what MI training might consist of and what to expect. Click here for more information
MINT is committed to high standards of training and those of us who offer professional development in MI would be expected to:
A range of practical exercises for teaching MI can be found here.
For organisations seeking training for their staff in MI, it is important to consider that MI as a fully utilized, skillful approach cannot easily be acquired in a two day workshop, although some core elements may be. The preparation leading up to training and support for ongoing practice and development of the skills are important factors in effective acquisition of MI skills.
Implementation research: a synthesis of the literature offers an indepth overview of the opportunities and challenges of implementation of treatments into practice.
MINT is committed to high standards of training and those of us who offer professional development in MI would be expected to:
- Model the spirit throughout the workshop
- Be skilled in MI and be able to demonstrate these skills as appropriate
- Be up to date in content and methodology
- Use adult learning principles and multiple modes of teaching
- Offer opportunities for skill development and interaction
- Be realistic and informed about the potential and limitations of MI
- Respect participants’ autonomy, existing skills and experience, and the nature of individual work settings.
A range of practical exercises for teaching MI can be found here.
For organisations seeking training for their staff in MI, it is important to consider that MI as a fully utilized, skillful approach cannot easily be acquired in a two day workshop, although some core elements may be. The preparation leading up to training and support for ongoing practice and development of the skills are important factors in effective acquisition of MI skills.
Implementation research: a synthesis of the literature offers an indepth overview of the opportunities and challenges of implementation of treatments into practice.
Research
Research into MI and its potential applications is growing at a significant pace with well over 1000 clinical trials. The growing body of evidence indicates that the approach is of value and can facilitate change.
However, it can be hard to navigate the research literature, especially when the term “Motivational Interviewing” has been used to describe a wide range of practices, many of which are not MI. Even where the description of MI was accurate, the fact that MI itself has evolved over the past thirty years can make it hard to compare findings across studies.
Further, even where the description of MI is sound, many studies offer no or insufficient fidelity measures that check whether what was delivered was actually MI. Add to this the challenge of determining meaningful outcome measures that could be considered to originate within the client, rather than the research team, and it can be difficult to draw firm conclusions.
What is MINT?
However, it can be hard to navigate the research literature, especially when the term “Motivational Interviewing” has been used to describe a wide range of practices, many of which are not MI. Even where the description of MI was accurate, the fact that MI itself has evolved over the past thirty years can make it hard to compare findings across studies.
Further, even where the description of MI is sound, many studies offer no or insufficient fidelity measures that check whether what was delivered was actually MI. Add to this the challenge of determining meaningful outcome measures that could be considered to originate within the client, rather than the research team, and it can be difficult to draw firm conclusions.
What is MINT?
"The bird is powered by its own life and by its motivation."
- A. P. J. Abdul Kalam -