Intro to Motivational Interviewing

For our next meeting, we’ll be exploring Motivational Interviewing (MI), a widely used and evidence-based approach for helping people make meaningful changes in their lives. MI was originally developed in the context of addiction treatment, but it is now used across many areas of healthcare, psychotherapy, coaching, and behavior change. At its core, MI is not about persuading people to change, but about helping them explore and resolve ambivalence and strengthen their own motivation.

As always in this group, the goal is to explore psychological ideas together
in a thoughtful and intellectually curious way, rather than to function as a
therapy or support group. Participants are encouraged to review a few short
resources beforehand and bring their reaction, questions, and observations
to the discussion. I'll help guide the conversation, but most of the insights
tend to emerge from the group itself.

Suggested Readings and Video

The first two readings are brief and accessible; the third is optional for those interested in a deeper look at how Motivational Interviewing connects to broader theories of motivation.
Psychology Today – Motivational Interviewing (overview)
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapy-types/motivational-interviewing
Therapist.com – Motivational Interviewing (more detailed description)
https://therapist.com/types-of-therapy/motivational-interviewing-mi/
Motivational Interviewing and Self-Determination Theory (optional, deeper dive)
https://selfdeterminationtheory.org/SDT/documents/2005_MarklandRyanTobinRollnick_MotivationalInterviewing.pdf
Optional Video Example (brief demonstration)
If you'd like to see what MI looks like in practice, check out this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zEpwxJlRQI