Motivational Interviewing
Motivational Interviewing (MI) is one of the many evidence-based therapeutic methods we use to connect and engage with our clients at The Dorm. It is a collaborative, conversational interview style that is effective at building therapeutic rapport and helping clients overcome ambivalence and resistance in therapy.
Through MI, we work to help clients find their own personal and intrinsic motivations for lasting, therapeutic change.
What is Motivational Interviewing (MI)?
Developed by two clinical psychologists, William R. Miller and Stephen Rollnick, MI is a professional counselling approach that was developed to help therapists better support clients as they explore and resolve ambivalence in therapy.
As a breakaway from the confrontational therapeutic styles of the 1970s and 80s, MI is a person-centered, supportive, and empathetic interviewing technique that focuses on highlighting clients’ personal self-efficacy on their journey to recovery.
The Goals of Motivational Interviewing:
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Create intrinsic motivation (versus having it be imposed), as that is the most sustainable force for therapeutic change
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Help clients overcome ambivalence
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Develop a therapeutic relationship built on respect, rather than establishing the therapist as an authoritarian figure
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Place an emphasis on a client's personal choices and responsibilities for deciding their own future behavior
Who Can Benefit from Motivational Interviewing?
Motivational interviewing can be incredibly effective at helping individuals find and maintain the intrinsic (rather than extrinsic) sources of motivation that they will need for lasting change.
Clients who most commonly benefit from MI may experience one or many of the following:
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Substance use disorders
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Eating disorders
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Mental health disorders
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Challenges with independent living
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Trauma
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Depression
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Anxiety - both generalized and social
Why is Intrinsic Motivation so Important to Recovery and Healing?
Many clients first seek out substance use treatment as a result of extrinsic reasons or pressures as from a parent or a significant other.
While these motivations can be powerful at first, they will not yield lasting, positive change. Using approaches such as motivational interviewing to find intrinsic motivation is the key to sustainable recovery.
Motivational Interviewing for Young Adults at The Dorm
Motivational interviewing at The Dorm is particularly effective due to the high level of individual and community support that all of our clients receive while they receive care with us. MI not only complements many other treatment modalities we offer, but it may also lead to positive changes in other areas of care (such as encouraging a client to start applying the skills that are learned in DBT or as part of a psychoeducational group).
At The Dorm, motivational interviewing has proven to be incredibly effective at helping our young adult population find and maintain the personal motivation they need to pursue their treatment goals.
Motivational Interviewing - New York City | Washington, DC
We provide motivational interviewing as a therapeutic modality to young adult clients at all of our locations including The Dorm New York, NY and The Dorm Washington, DC.
For Professionals
At The Dorm, motivational interviewing is delivered by licensed, formally-trained therapists at all of our treatment locations.
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Our clinicians find motivational interviewing to be particularly effective for young adult clients who may be resistant or unmotivated by change or who may need additional support working through the emotional stages of change
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This treatment technique is generally a shorter-term counseling intervention that is combined with other therapeutic modalities including cognitive therapy and group therapy
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With a client-centered emphasis on bolstering self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation, we find this therapeutic approach to be very appropriate for our young adult population
