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At the University of
Arizona we taught Motivational Interviewing using a television
broadcast so as to reach counselors who often do not receive
continuing education. The results are informative when compared
to other trainings that were delivered in a traditional workshop
format.
Participants report and demonstrate similar increases in their
knowledge of motivational interviewing regardless of the training
format.
Participants report similar increases in their skill levels
regardless of the training format
The Motivational Interviewing Skill Code was used by staff
at the University of New Mexico to rate audiotapes submitted
by counselors who participated in the trainings. Four months
after the trainings, participants demonstrate similar increases
in their motivational interviewing skills regardless of the
training format. The sobering news is that those increases
are very small or non-existent.
Using a different training format, counselors were given Motivational
Interviewing training that included:
- Watching portions
of training videos,
- Several hours of
live instruction, and
- Regularly scheduled
phone consultations.
As a result of their
training, these counselors are demonstrating Motivational
Interviewing skills much closer to experts than the counselors
trained in a traditional workshop or trained by video.
- Motivational Interviewing
skills can be learned.
- Using only the traditional
workshop may not be the best method to facilitate this learning.
- Only the counselors
who received on going supervision are demonstrating motivational
interviewing skills at or above the level estimated to be
necessary to produce increases in client motivation.
What
I am recommending to those who want to learn Motivational
Interviewing:
- Attend a one or two
day training (see a sample agenda)
or use books and videos to become familiar with the concepts
and principles of Motivational Interviewing.
- Complete some paper
and pencil exercises so that you are at least using the
motivational interviewing concepts in writing. If you can’t
use them on paper you will not be able to use them verbally
with a client.
- Arrange on going
supervision with a motivational interviewing trainer. This
supervision can be done by phone.
- Arrange to have some
of your actual counseling sessions reviewed. Submit an audiotape
to a motivational interviewing trainer to have it reviewed
and to receive feedback on your actual counseling.
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