Motivational interviewing (MI) is a person-centered counseling style used in counseling and in health interventions for eliciting behavior change. William R. Miller and Stephen Rollnick developed MI to treat alcohol dependency and abuse, and it has since been expanded to treat other addictive behaviors. MI is now established as an evidence-based practice in the treatment of substance use disorders. This entry describes the goals of MI, [Page 896]intervention types, strategies and principles, and the efficacy of MI interventions.

MI is a goal-oriented perspective that helps participants recognize and resolve ambivalence about changing a health behavior. When participants realize discrepancies between their goals and their current problematic behaviors they begin to build an intrinsic motivation to change.