Motivational Interviewing

Motivational interviewing is a client-centered, goal-driven counseling approach widely used with a variety of mental health conditions. Described more as a way of being than a specific set of techniques and interventions, motivational interviewing was originally developed in the 1980s as a treatment for individuals with drinking problems. It has since undergone several phases of development, all aimed at providing therapeutic conditions that stimulate intrinsic motivation for change. Motivational interviewing has a core goal of increasing the client’s own desire or motivation for change, which is facilitated by exploring the reasons why clients are resistant to change. The theory posits that most people teeter between a desire to change problematic behavior and a desire to continue those problematic behaviors. Clinicians then use client ambivalence as ...