Motivational Interviewing ─ Helping People Change

Motivational Interviewing is a structured method of conversation developed thirty years ago by mental health professionals to get people to voluntarily enter drug treatment. This book is the newly revised third edition of a standard handbook on the method. MI has found broad application in areas from social work to prisons to coaching. Its premise is that the interviewer is helping the interviewee find and produce a useful behavior voluntarily. When performed well, MI resembles Active Listening for "type A" personalities; it can help people who want to make a particular change carry it out in practice. When performed badly, the interviewer chooses the "right" behavior, and psychological manipulation by an authority figure is defined as care and help. The authors of this book admit honestly that earlier editions encouraged the habit of using MI techniques to get people to do whatever the interviewer wanted; they provide a section in this edition on the spirit of MI, designed as a corrective. Here, they offer instead the analogy that the interviewer is the interviewee's hired guide to a foreign country. This edition is divided into seven parts. The first defines the spirit and method of MI. The second describes how to engage the client and create a trusting relationship. The third describes how to focus the client on a specific goal. The fourth explains evoking preparation for change. The fifth describes making a change plan with the client. The sixth discusses using MI in everyday practice, and the last discusses how MI has been and can be evaluated for effectiveness. There are two appendices: a glossary of MI terminology, and a bibliography of books and articles on MI. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)