Motivational interviewing (MI) is a general method for talking with people about change that was developed by Bill Miller and Stephen Rollnick in the 1980’s (Miller & Rollnick, 2020). As an approach to counseling, it has been shown to improve treatment engagement, motivation for change, change behaviors and outcomes in the areas of substance use, health behaviors and mental health.

MI providers balance client engagement with change-oriented techniques. Engagement is accomplished through a combination of person-centered principles, known as the MI Spirit, (including compassion, acceptance, autonomy support, evoking the client’s ideas about change, and maintaining a collaborative approach), a set of basic communication tools (open questions, reflections, affirmations and summaries [OARS]), and a set of techniques for “rolling with resistance.