An Introduction to Motivational Interviewing

Creating the conversation for change

As a client-centred approach, Motivational Interviewing (MI) is chiefly concerned with promoting an individual’s own capabilities to bring about change of problematic health-related behaviours. Ambivalence about changing or maintaining the status quo is seen as a natural part of the change process. This is resolved in the direction of change through carefully attuning to and empathising with the individual. As underlying conflicts are brought to the surface, MI focuses especially on how a clinician or therapist can engage with a client in order to evoke a greater argument for change for the better from the clients themselves. Research has consistently shown that the strength of the resulting argument predicts successful outcome.This one day workshop will orient attendees to all the broad tenets of MI using theory, conversation, and skills practice, with an emphasis on how it may be applied in their own areas of work.