Motivational Interviewing

When attempting to create a behavior change on your own you may have mixed feelings about how to proceed, it may be beneficial to have a supportive network of friends, family, and professionals to support you, such as a counselor who can provide motivational therapy to help keep you on track. Some counselors devote their careers to studying how people commit to making healthy life changes. Psychologists trained in motivational interviewing (MI) may be able to help by facilitating behavior change through resolution of the client’s ambivalence. They tend to pay particular attention to finding intrinsic motivators for making behavioral changes. 

Changes can occur, whether ambitious, minor, or somewhere in between. If you're in a season of personal development, motivational interviewing might inspire you to make healthier changes in the present and transform your future.  

What is motivational interviewing?

Motivational interviewing was a process initially developed by clinical psychologist William R. Miller and later expanded on with Stephen Rollnick as an option in clinical practice for those experiencing a substance use disorder. The process itself is based on the humanistic values of Carl Rogers in which patients are treated with empathy and unconditional positive regard. Miller and Rollnick developed a guide printed by Guilfold Press that serves as a foundation for helping patients change behavior using MI principles. The theory and practice of MI in clinical psychology have evolved over subsequent decades, and it's now used in behavioral and cognitive psychotherapy for various conditions. 

In a motivational interviewing session, the therapist often engages a person in a candid discussion to assess whether they’re genuinely interested in change. Client autonomy is typically a key component of motivational interviewing. Motivational behaviors can differ greatly—and people change for many reasons. The motivation to change may originate in the patient, not the therapist, which makes it important to consider a client’s ideas in the process.

Who can benefit from motivational interviewing?

• Healthy nutrition and physical activity levels
• Abstinence from smoking, gambling, unsafe sex, or other behaviors
• Stress management
• Engagement in management programs for diabetes, cardiovascular health, or other health concerns

Core principles of motivational interviewing

1. Willingness: How open a client is to change 
2. Ability: The confidence a client has to change
3. Readiness: Whether the change is an immediate priority

1. Listen with empathy: As a foundational skill, Therapists trained in MI learn to take an active interest in a client's internal perspective and express empathy by showing genuine curiosity and using reflective listening.
2. Understand the client's motivations: If the client isn't motivated, change may not occur, regardless of how much a therapist cares for the client's well-being. Instead, the therapist honors client autonomy and strives to support their client’s self-efficacy by reflecting on the their strengths and past successes and restoring confidence in their capacity for change.
3. Resist the righting reflex: Counselors may feel inclined to prescribe the "right path" for healthy change, but this can defeat the purpose of MI, as clients may resist change when therapists propose a strict plan of action. A well-trained MI counselor may roll with resistance and emphasize a client's decision to make changes independently, using reflective phrases.
4. Empower the patient: Research shows that when clients are primary and active collaborators in their healthcare, the treatment outcomes tend to improve. In MI, empowerment may look like collaboration that boosts a client’s ability to change. 

Common strategies used in motivational interviewing

To build a client's motivation, counselors use several research-backed strategies to give clients confidence in their ability. There are many therapeutic techniques that may promote change and support a healthy client-therapist relationship and productive conversation in Motivational Interviewing. Motivational interviewing strategies include:

Open-ended questions

Affirmations

Reflective listening and phrasing to express empathy

A collaborative "change plan" 

• Where do we go from here?
• What do you want to do at this point?
• After reviewing this plan, what's the next step for you?

The client is the change leader in this plan (and in all motivational interviewing strategies). Their therapist can be a collaborative, trusting professional who recognizes their strengths, autonomy, and vision for the future. 

The benefits of online motivational interviewing 

Counselor reviews