Motivational Interviewing: Beyond the Basics Training
Wednesday, October 15 | 1:30 PM - 4:30 PM
This workshop has limited capacity. Register early!
Motivational Interviewing (MI) is defined as “a particular way of talking with people about change and growth to strengthen their own motivation and commitment” (Miller & Rollnick, 2023, p. 3). MI is designed to evoke and enhance the individual’s own motivation to change, using strategies that are empathetic and non-confrontational. While it has long been recognized as an effective way to promote behavior change within individuals in substance use treatment, MI has a wide range of applications beyond the clinician-client interaction. MI’s guiding helping style draws out the individual’s own strengths and desires to help them make the behavioral changes needed to reach their goals. Participants will learn about the guiding spirit of MI and the four tasks, and will have the opportunity to practice core skills and appropriately respond to challenges in an experiential skill-development training.
Objectives
- Describe key aspects of the spirit of motivational interviewing as well as the four tasks and the importance of effective engagement
- Describe common traps and communication barriers (e.g. the persuasion trap, the wandering trap) which can arise and contribute to potential discord
- Generate effective responses consistent with motivational interviewing to elicit change talk and to help clients explore and resolve ambivalence
- Demonstrate use of core motivational interviewing skills, as well as the ability to identify and appropriately respond to sustain talk and discord
About the Trainer
Josh Seezs is a Certified Social Worker-Private Independent Practice (CSW-PIP), Clinician, Master Trainer Consultant at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation and serves as an adjunct faculty member at the Hazelden Betty Ford Graduate School in Center City, MN. Josh also serves on the Board of Directors at Central Minnesota Mental Health Center (CMMHC). He is certified in Motivational Interviewing and is experienced in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and suicide prevention. He treated co-occurring disorders and served Veterans and their families for fourteen years at the St. Cloud Veterans Affairs Health Care System. With a passion for helping others achieve their goals, Josh employs evidence-based techniques to guide individuals towards positive change. He is a graduate of George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.