Weekly Motivational
Interviewing Blog

I was talking with someone recently who worked as a chaplain at a hospital. They were talking about documentation, and in their electronic chart for case notes, there was a drop down menu that offered “presence of being” as an intervention that they could select.  ...

I trained a group of therapists last week, and there were lots of questions about what MI can be used for. Can Motivational Interviewing be used for clients with depression?  Can Motivational Interviewing be used for clients with anxiety? Can Motivational Interviewing...

Namaste! I was in my yoga class recently, feeling amazing after a nice shavasana rest on my mat before class closed out. The class always ends with everyone sitting up, hands in prayer pose in front of the heart. Then, as the teacher bows, she says, “Namaste: The...

When learners to OARS and Motivational Interviewing are learning about Reflective Listening, many are initially skeptical about the benefits of it. “What’s wrong with asking questions? We don’t want to put words in someone’s mouth,” they say. When we are using...

It’s not hard to think about how the spirit and skills of Motivational Interviewing can translate into facilitating groups! When I ran outpatient groups in a substance abuse clinic, I utilized Motivational Interviewing in groups all of the time! In one group, I...

Ask-Offer-Ask is a Motivational Interviewing tool that is used when exchanging information or advice. The goal is to support client choice and autonomy as we first evoke their knowledge and thoughts on something before imparting ours! So, when my daughter pierced her...