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MOTIVATIONAL INTERVIEWING
WHAT IS MOTIVATIONAL INTERVIEWING?
Motivational interviewing (MI) is a compassionate, person-centered approach to conversation that helps people explore and resolve ambivalence about change. Rooted in empathy, MI supports individuals in discovering their own internal motivation, making meaningful and lasting change more likely than through directive or prescriptive methods.
Backed by decades of research, MI is widely used across professional settings including healthcare, substance use disorder treatment, criminal justice, education, social services, and business. Its effectiveness has been demonstrated across diverse populations, cultures, and disciplines, from patient care and counseling to leadership and management.
Through the intentional use of specific language and active listening skills, MI practitioners guide conversations in a way that honors the client’s autonomy and wisdom. Rather than pushing for change, practitioners help clients explore what truly matters to them, gently uncovering their own reasons for change and strengthening their commitment to it.
At its core, MI is about partnership. By sitting alongside rather than across from clients, and by leading with empathy and curiosity, practitioners build trusting relationships that create space for transformation...one meaningful conversation at a time.
WHY IT MATTERS
Most professionals are trained to be experts…to assess, diagnose, educate, and prescribe. But expertise alone rarely produces lasting behavior change. People do not like being told what to do, even when they know it's right.
MI offers a different approach. When practitioners learn to meet people with genuine curiosity and respect for their autonomy, something shifts. People engage more honestly. Students take ownership of their learning. Teams communicate with less friction and more trust.
The research is clear: MI-trained practitioners see stronger engagement, better adherence, and more meaningful outcomes across nutrition counseling, chronic disease management, mental health, substance use, and beyond.
WHERE IS IT USED?
MI is used across a wide range of fields and populations, including:
Healthcare
(chronic disease management, patient engagement)
Social services
(child welfare,
case management)
Business
(leadership, management
and HR)
Education
(academic advising,
student support)
Mental health
(substance use disorder treatment, emotional well-being)
Criminal justice
(probation,
rehabilitation)
Its adaptability makes it valuable in any setting where behavior change, communication, or relationship-building is key.
LEARNING MI IS A JOURNEY
Motivational interviewing is a learnable skill, but like any interpersonal practice, it develops over time through learning, practice, feedback, and reflection. While workshops can introduce new concepts and provide opportunities to build foundational skills, proficiency is developed through repeated use in real conversations.
Research suggests that without opportunities to reinforce and refine new skills, people often return to familiar communication habits over time. This is a common part of the learning process and reflects the reality that developing complex communication skills takes practice.
For this reason, motivational interviewing is often viewed as a continuum of skill devel
opment rather than a one-time training event. While every learning journey is different, many practitioners find their development evolves through three broad stages:
Foundational training: Introduces the core concepts and skills of motivational interviewing, including the spirit of MI and the communication tools that support collaborative, person-centered conversations. A one- to two-day workshop provides a strong foundation and creates momentum for continued learning.
Intermediate development: Deepens skills through application, feedback, coaching, and guided practice. As practitioners begin using MI in real-world conversations, they develop greater confidence, consistency, and flexibility in their approach.
Advanced practice: Focuses on refining skills, increasing fidelity, and integrating motivational interviewing more fully into practice. At the organizational level, this stage often includes strategies to sustain MI over time through coaching, reflective practice, supervision, and implementation support.
You can read more about training expectations here.
BRINGING MI INTO YOUR WORK
Motivational interviewing isn't just beneficial for patients and clients. It changes the experience of the people who use it.
For Helping Professionals : MI offers a different way to have conversations about change. Rather than pushing for change or defaulting to advice-giving, you learn to meet people with curiosity and follow their lead. Conversations often feel more collaborative, relationships deepen, and the frustration that comes from feeling stuck begins to ease.
Many helping professionals find that MI changes not only how they communicate, but how they experience their work. When you're no longer carrying the responsibility of convincing someone to change, there's often more room for partnership, connection, and meaningful progress. For some, that shift can also ease the emotional fatigue that contributes to burnout.
For Organizations : When MI is integrated across a team or organization, it creates a shared foundation for how people communicate — both with one another and with the people they serve.
Including leadership in MI training helps move MI from a staff skill to an organizational standard. When leaders communicate using the same principles, it reinforces the approach at every level and strengthens implementation efforts. Over time, this can contribute to stronger engagement, improved retention, and more meaningful outcomes for the people your organization serves.
WHY LEARN MI FROM ANGELINA
Not everyone who practices MI is equipped to teach it and not everyone who teaches it brings clinical depth, research fluency, and real-world training experience to the room at the same time.
Angelina Moore Maia, Ph.D., RDN, LDN has been a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT) since 2016, the international standard for MI trainers. Her work sits at the intersection of behavioral nutrition, self-determination theory, and adult learning, giving her a uniquely integrated lens on how and why MI works.
She has trained healthcare professionals, educators, dietitians, social workers, and interprofessional teams across the country and her published research on MI in interprofessional education adds an evidence base to everything she brings into the training room.
When you learn MI with Angelina, you're not just learning a set of techniques. You're learning a way of being with people that will change how you practice.
