Developing expertise in motivational interviewing (MI) takes practice, which is exactly the point of this engaging, user-friendly workbook. The volume is packed with real-world examples from a range of clinical settings, as well as sample interactions and hands-on learning activities. The author is an experienced MI researcher, clinician, and trainer who facilitates learning with quizzes, experiential exercises, and reproducible worksheets. The reader learns step by step how to practice core MI skills: raising the importance of behavior change, fostering the client's confidence, resolving ambivalence, solidifying commitment to change, and negotiating a change plan. The utility of the book is enhanced by the large-size format and lay-flat binding. The book shows how to navigate each session using microskills that many clinicians already know: open-ended questions, affirmations, reflective listening and summaries, or OARS for short.
I am a clinical psychologist who works primarily as the Director of Research and Evaluation Services at the Prevention Research Institute (Lexington, KY), but also spends time as a research affiliate at the University of Washington's Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute and as a MI consultant and trainer.
I completed the initial Training for Trainer's of motivational interviewing (MI) course offered by Miller and Rollnick in 1993 and have provided regular training in MI since. I am the former Editor of a newsletter for MI trainers and one of the founders of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (an international association representing 700+ MI trainers spread across 35+ countries and six continents) and former Steering Committee member. In addition to Building Motivational Interviewing Skills: A Practitioner Workbook, I have written with coauthors a number of scholarly articles and book chapters. If you have insomnia, you might consider looking them up.
The consistent themes in my work, since graduate school more than 20 years ago, are what initiates and sustains motivation and the process of change. My interest began in work with angry adolescents and progressed through work in prison, VA and state hospitals, and outpatient settings. My research focus has included addictive behaviors and its sequelae, HIV/AIDS and risk reduction, IPV, brief interventions and training methods. I have worked clinically with a range of treatment populations from addictive behaviors to sexual offenders to the chronically mentally ill. My treatment focus most recently has been adolescents while my research evaluates methods of training practitioners.
When not working, I parent, do tasks around the home, wish I could still play basketball below the rim and read good novels ten minutes at a time. I used to backpack, but I've gotten old and the ground is less forgiving for sleeping now. I have two daughters, and a son that keep me busy and without spending money. My lovely wife Stephanie is also a MI trainer. We are the principles in 2 Steps Forward Training and Consultation (www.2sft.com).
