Motivational interviewing

Annu Rev Clin Psychol. 2005:1:91-111. doi: 10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.1.102803.143833.

Abstract

Motivational interviewing (MI) is a client-centered, directive therapeutic style to enhance readiness for change by helping clients explore and resolve ambivalence. An evolution of Rogers's person-centered counseling approach, MI elicits the client's own motivations for change. The rapidly growing evidence base for MI is summarized in a new meta-analysis of 72 clinical trials spanning a range of target problems. The average short-term between-group effect size of MI was 0.77, decreasing to 0.30 at follow-ups to one year. Observed effect sizes of MI were larger with ethnic minority populations, and when the practice of MI was not manual-guided. The highly variable effectiveness of MI across providers, populations, target problems, and settings suggests a need to understand and specify how MI exerts its effects. Progress toward a theory of MI is described, as is research on how clinicians develop proficiency in this method.

Publication types

  • Meta-Analysis
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Humans
  • Interview, Psychological*
  • Motivation*
  • Psychotherapy / education
  • Psychotherapy / methods*
  • Regression Analysis
  • Substance-Related Disorders / therapy
  • Treatment Outcome