1. Motivational Therapy  Also known as motivational interviewing  It’s technique that can be used to inspire patients who have virtually any level of enthusiasm for change, from almost none to nearly enough, to move toward improvements that can make their life better.  A collaboration in which the psychiatrist seeks to evoke the patient’s own recognition of the desirability of change.  It’s a non-combative, non-threatening, non- judgmental technique where the therapist doesn’t argue with the client.  It’s a friendly and relaxing atmosphere.

2. History  The origins of motivational therapy came about in 1980, when William R. Miller prepared nine counselors in techniques of behavioral self-control training and client-centered skill of accurate empathy.  It was originally created to combat problem drinking and alcoholism.  In 1983, Miller lectured and discussed his technique with a group of European psychologists in Bergen, Norway.  Later that year, he officially conceptualized “motivational interviewing” as his own theory.  The three theories that Miller blended together were Leon Festinger’s cognitive dissonance, Daryl Bem’s reformulation of self-perception and Carl Rogers’ necessary and sufficient conditions for fostering change.  Finally, in 1989, Miller met Stephen Rollnick, who’d been successfully using Miller’s technique in the UK. Two years later, they co-authored the original motivational interviewing book.

3. OARS  Open-Ended Questions: Allows for a richer, deeper conversation that flows and builds empathy with clients. They encourage clients to do most of the talking, while the therapist listens and responds with reflection and summary.  Affirmation: These are statements made by the therapist in response to what the client has said. They verify and acknowledge a client’s behavior changes and attempts to change.  Reflection: This is the primary way of responding to clients and building empathy. It involves listening closely to the client and making a reasonable guess about what they are saying. It’s essentially forming a hypothesis where the therapist paraphrases the client’s comments back to them.  Summary: These are used to relate and link what clients have already expressed, and to move them onto another topic or have them expand on the current discussion.

4. Behaviors Effected by Motivational Interviewing  Given that it was originally created for alcohol abuse, coupled with the staggering amount of abuse today, motivational therapy is mostly used for alcoholism.  However, it can be used for a multitude of things. The main goal for motivational therapy is to elicit behavior change by helping clients explore and resolve ambivalence.  With that said, this would include anything that the client (or people close to the client) feel conflicted about.  This includes other substances of abuse, smoking, dieting, eating disorders, gambling or other compulsive spending habits, or anything that the client feels is unhealthy and debilitating.

5. Sources  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2719555/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2719555/  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2759607/#R53 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2759607/#R53  http://www.nova.edu/gsc/forms/mi_rationale_techniques.pdf http://www.nova.edu/gsc/forms/mi_rationale_techniques.pdf  http://www.motivationalinterview.net/clinical/whatismi.html http://www.motivationalinterview.net/clinical/whatismi.html