What is Motivational Interviewing?

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a collaborative, guiding style of communication, used to talk about behavior change. An effective guide uses the MI spirit and skills to help people hear themselves talk about the possibilities of change.

Who Can Benefit From Learning Motivational Interviewing?

Anyone who talks with others about behavior or lifestyle change. Professionals in health care, education, social work, counseling and addiction treatment will find MI effective and rewarding in their work. High quality MI  training is critical to the process, so the professional can learn and apply skills that have been shown to be effective in guiding people towards change by reducing ambivalence.

Why? Because it works! MI began with research by Dr. Bill Miller in the field of addiction treatment as he analyzed attributes of effective counselors. Since then, research has shown that an effective MI conversation can improve targeted outcomes in multiple behavioral domains by helping people reduce ambivalence and hear their own thoughts about change.  MI has been applied in counseling, health care, education, health coaching and business.

Want to know more? See links above for research and training options.