Motivational Interviewing: Theory, Skills, and Application with Diverse Populations

Raymond Chip Tafrate, Ph.D.
Chairperson, Professor, and Clinical Psychologist
Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice
Central Connecticut State University

|    Program Objectives   |    Program Outline    |   Register    |

Dates for future courses will be advised

Program Overview

Across a variety of mental health settings, motivation is a key factor for helping people change difficult and intractable human problems such as alcohol and drug dependence, persistent mental illness, chronic unemployment, family violence, homelessness, and health related behaviors. Motivational Interviewing (MI) is both a client centered and directive strategy that promotes behavior change by helping clients explore and resolve their own ambivalence. Unlike other popular models of treatment, MI emphasizes reasons for change rather than skills or techniques for how to change. This approach favors empathy over confrontation, seeks to make clients active rather than passive, values freedom of choice more than compliance, and focuses on the clients’ arguments for change rather than advice giving or problem solving from others. MI is currently the most scientifically supported approach for motivating people with difficult-to-change problems.

This 2-day workshop is aimed at developing a basic level of competency so that participants can apply the motivational interviewing model in their own settings. Participants will become familiar with the basic theory of MI and practice client centered counseling skills to reduce resistance and engage difficult cases. They will also learn how to recognize, elicit, and reinforce client verbalizations for changing self-defeating behaviors. Strategies for integrating MI with other treatment approaches and adaptations with indigenous populations will be examined. Opportunities to practice MI skills and receive feedback will be provided through a series of structured learning activities that include live demonstrations, role-plays, ‘real’-plays, and small group exercises.

Program Objectives

During this 2-day workshop, participants will:
Develop a basic level of competency in the Motivational Interviewing (MI) approach so that the model can be immediately utilized following the training

• Become familiar with the theory and core principles of the MI approach
• Learn to use client centered counseling skills to engage reluctant and coerced clients so that they make their own arguments for changing self-defeating behaviors
• Be able to recognize, elicit, and reinforce clients’ reasons for change
• Learn how to develop a plan for change that clients are likely to carry out
• Become familiar with strategies of adapting MI to indigenous populations

Program Outline

Day #1

I. Spirit of MI: Theory and Basic Principles

1. Assumptions and values of the MI philosophy
2. Listening with presence
3. Ambivalence and freedom of choice
4. Learning to recognize glimmers of motivation
5. A working definition

II. Using Client Centered Counseling Skills to Engage Difficult Cases

1. OARS skills: Old wine in a new bottle or a new wine
2. Open-ended questions, affirmations, reflections, and summaries
3. Skill balance, emphasis, and timing

III. Developing MI Adherent Responses

1. Practice makes automatic: Exercises for developing fluency
2. Integrating the MI spirit and skill set with your own style

Day #2

IV. Recognizing Change Talk

1. What clients hear themselves say is more powerful than what you say
2. Making distinctions between subtypes of change talk

V. Eliciting and Strengthening Change Talk

1. Emphasizing reasons for change over how to change
2. Practice activities for hearing and responding to change talk

VI. Developing a Change Plan

1. Getting movement towards change: Agreeing on the next step
2. Honoring client autonomy and freedom of choice
3. Following up
4. Consolidating commitment

VII. Maneuvers for specific situations

1. Openers
2. Managing resistance and noncompliance issues
3. Common endings

VIII. MI and Indigenous Populations

1. Lessons learned from using MI with Native Americans
2. Adapting the model to diverse groups

IX. Questions, Comments, Final Thoughts…

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