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Motivational interviewing is
a relatively new counselling approach introduced by
William Miller and Stephen Rollnick in the early 1990s.
Essentially, the technique is a brief,
non-confrontational, way of helping someone to make
behaviour changes. This approach recognises that
adapting to change is not always easy, because it is not
a completely positive experience. Instead, motivational
interviewing techniques recognise both positive and
negative aspects of change. Clients often have reasons
to do a health-promoting behaviour (e.g., stop smoking,
begin exercising, follow a diet,…). They also have
reasons for not doing this same behaviour. Because of
this ambivalence, clients will often resist direct
advice to do the healthy behaviour. Thus the approach
attempts to enhance the client’s intrinsic motivation to
change by resolving the ambivalence the client has
concerning making the change. Thus, the technique
involves decreasing a client’s potential resistance to
change, helping them move toward being more ready to
discuss and potentially begin to make changes in their
behaviour, clarifying goals, assisting in the
development of realistic strategies to facilitate
behaviour change. Thus the approach clearly accepts that
clients have choices, that they are in charge of making
their own decisions, and that the responsibility for
change is entirely up to them.
References:
Daley, D. C., & Zuckoff, A. (1999). Improving
Treatment Compliance: Counseling and Systems Strategies
for Substance Abuse and Dual Disorders. Hazelden:
City Center, Minnesota.
Miller, W., & Rollnick, S. (Eds.). (1991).
Motivational interviewing. Guildford Press.
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