Motivational Interviewing Developed by psychologists Professor William R. Miller, Ph.D. and Professor Stephen Rollnick, Ph.D., Motivational Interviewing is a directive, client-centered counseling style whose main purpose is to examine and explore with the client his or her feelings of ambivalence thus promoting behavior change. Motivational interviewing is a form of counseling that aims at igniting the desire to change in an individual. Therapy and counseling serves a variety of purposes, from weight loss to drug addiction. The goal of the clinician is to focus on helping the client establish internal motivation to change a specific behavior. Therefore, rather than pressuring or demanding change, the clinician guides the client toward his/her personal reason for wanting change. The following steps support the process of eliciting change with motivational interviewing. It is based in the principles of Carl Roger’s client-centered approach that emphasis the interpersonal style between client and counselor as an effective tool in eliciting behavior change rather than the use of techniques. Motivational Interviewing recognizes and accepts the fact that clients who need to make changes in their lives approach counseling at different levels of readiness to change their behavior. No matter what is the reason that brings people to seek for help, the feeling of ambivalence is commonly present. This is congruent with the contemplation stage of Prochaska’s Transtheoretical Model of Change. In this stage, clients may experience an overwhelming feeling of ambivalence that can delay their decision of moving towards the next step.
