How to Do Motivational Interviewing: A Guidebook for Beginners

In this concise book, you will learn how do do Motivational Interviewing (MI), the evidence-based counseling approach that has been proven to be effective for a range of psychological, behavioral, and health related issues. Helping people change their behavior in healthy directions can sometimes feel frustrating and stressful. Despite the best advice and information, about half of the people who could benefit by changing their behavior in healthier directions, including people being treated for chronic medical and psychological conditions, have difficulty changing their behavior. By understanding what motivates clients and using the gentle, client-centered MI approach taught in this book, clients themselves become advocates for change, reducing practitioner frustration and stress. The author, an experienced psychologist, psychotherapist, public speaker and MI trainer, jumps right in to teaching you the mindset and methodologies of this powerful approach. Some of the topics covered include: how to prepare for an MI session, how to assess your client's motivation, how to handle resistance, how to ask strategic questions that elicit client arguments for change, and how to give advice and information in an MI consistent way. The author describes how simple counseling techniques, which are usually taught in beginning courses, can be powerful when used strategically to tap into clients' own motivation. Anyone who works with people, including doctors, nurses, psychologists, addiction counselors, case managers, social workers, family advocates, lay counselors, correctional staff, dentists, life coaches, fitness instructors, dietitians, nutritional counselors, physical therapists and others would benefit from the information in this book.