Welcome to the Principles of Motivational Interviewing (MI) Workshop. We are very excited to
spend the day with you. Our sincere hope is that we can practice MI together and explore how it
can fit into your day-to-day work. Even though we will focus on basic principles, we believe
that you will find this training to be useful even if you come with previous MI training
experience.
MI has emerged as one of the most critical evidence-based approaches when working with
patients to promote behavior change. Originally developed in the context of treating substance
use disorders, MI is a collaborative method of communication that pays particular attention to
the language of change. MI helps to strengthen intrinsic motivation for change by exploring the
patient’s own reasons for change within an atmosphere of acceptance, partnership, evocation,
and compassion.
The MI approach has been researched extensively in diverse settings, including primary care,
mental health, addictions, education, and facilities under the department of corrections.
Continuously evolving MI strategies has necessitated ongoing education for all types of
healthcare workers. This introductory course is designed to help a variety of clinicians interested
in learning the basic MI principles to translate that knowledge into practice. The course will
review the four processes, spirit of MI, patient-centered communications skills, change and
sustain talk, and approaches to patients who are “resistant” to change. Multiple learning
approaches will be used throughout the course, including didactics, video demonstrations, role
plays, and small group discussions.
Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:
• Describe and demonstrate the spirit of motivational interviewing (MI) and its four processes
(engaging, focusing, evoking, planning).
• Utilize patient-centered MI skills to help elicit and strengthen the internal motivation for
change.
• Adapt the MI skills to fit into participants’ current practice setting and target behaviors.
So now, Let’s MI together!!
Joji, Abby, John, Claudia, and Susan

Page | 4

SCHEDULE

Start
Time
End
Time

Session Title Faculty Name,
credentials, title, and
affiliation

9:00 9:30 Welcome

Overview, Spirit of MI

Joji Suzuki MD
Assist. Prof HMS, BWH
9:30 9:50 Engaging: OARS skills Abby Altman PhD
Instructor HMS, BWH

9:50 10:10 Small group practice (triad)
10:10 10:20 Exercise debriefing All faculty
10:20 10:50 Engaging: OARS continued Abby Altman PhD
Instructor HMS, BWH

10:50 11:05 Break
11:05 11:30 Focusing

• Agenda setting
• Ask-tell-ask

Claudia Rodriguez MD
Instructor HMS, BWH

11:30 11:40 Small group practice (triad)
11:40 11:45 Exercise debriefing All faculty
11:45 12:30 Lunch on own
12:30 1:35 Evoking

• Strengthening internal motivation
• Change talk and Sustain talk

Susan Larrabee LICSW
BWH
1:35 1:55 Small group practice (triad) Taste of MI 20 min
1:55 2:00 Exercise debriefing All faculty
2:00 2:10 Break
2:10 2:45 Discord

• Rolling with resistance

John Rodolico PhD
Instructor HMS, McLean

2:45 3:05 Small group practice (6 people)
3:05 3:10 Exercise debriefing All faculty
3:10 3:40 Planning

• MI consistent action planning

Claudia Rodriguez MD
Instructor HMS, BWH

3:40 3:50 Break
3:50 4:20 Bringing it together
Live Demo/Video
10 minute debrief

All faculty

4:20 4:50 Practice exercise (triad)
4:50 5:00 Exercise debriefing All faculty
5:00 5:20 Q&A All faculty
5:20 5:30 Wrap-up and end All faculty

HOUSEKEEPING

• Overall virtual experience
o A key aspect of MI and this conference is engagement. If you feel comfortable
doing so, please keep your video on when possible so that we can see your faces.
o When in the larger group, please keep you microphones muted to avoid
interruptions or background noise.
o Moderators will track the chat and will respond to your questions when possible.
Feel free to use this to communicate with our team throughout the workshop.

• Practice exercises
o Exercises will be reviewed prior to break out rooms and will be accessible in the
order they are presented in the appendix of this handout. Instructions specific to
exercises will also be available.
o Please keep cameras on during the exercise as you will be working in very small
groups (3-6 people).
o We need EACH OTHER. Please do your best to participate in breakout sessions.
Each one of you will play a key role in the practice sessions, which we consider
vital to the success of today’s workshop.
o Moderators will go in and out of the sessions to provide guidance if necessary.

What is Motivational Interviewing?

A guiding style of
communication -> Directing

Particular focus on language of
change -> Following

Evoking the patient’s own -> Guiding
reasons for change

Psychotherapy
Stages of Change Model
Decisional Balance (pros and cons)
For every patient in every situation
Brief Intervention
Panacea
East to attain competence

Four Processes




Evoking

Planning


Engaging
• The relational foundation
• Demonstrating you are listening
• Use of reflections

• Agreeing on what to talk about
• Shared decision making
• Decision mapping

• Evoking motivation to change
• Eliciting patient’s own ideas

Translating
motivation
into change