Motivational Interviewing

By VeriScorePrep Team · 5 min

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a directive yet collaborative style for resolving ambivalence about change. It is widely used in substance use, health behavior, and any setting where the client is not yet ready.

The spirit

• Partnership: the worker is not the expert; the client is.
• Acceptance: respect the client's autonomy and perspective.
• Compassion: prioritize the client's welfare.
• Evocation: draw out the client's own motivation rather than installing the worker's.

Core skills (OARS)

• Open-ended questions: invite exploration, not yes/no.
• Affirmations: recognize strengths and effort.
• Reflections: restating in a way that deepens understanding.
• Summaries: pull together key points and pivot toward change.

Working with resistance

Resistance is data, not defiance. It signals that you may be pushing the client ahead of where they are. Reflect it rather than argue it. Change language ("I want to stop," "I need to") predicts movement; sustain language ("but I can't," "I shouldn't") predicts stasis. Elicit and strengthen change talk.

Stages

• Precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance. Match the intervention to the stage — push action on a precontemplator and you'll get resistance.

MI is a stance, not a script. Practice reflections on colleagues first; the difference between an effective reflection and a clumsy one is small in words, large in effect.