Motivational Interviewing (MI) is “a collaborative conversation style for strengthening a person’s own motivation and commitment to change” (Miller & Rollnick, 2013).
MI may be used in different correctional settings and stages of supervision: From intake/first visit, case planning, field contact, office contacts to final release. MI improves information gathering during investigations and assessments, reduces supervisee resistance, advances behavior change, and helps prevent staff burnout. (Bogue & Nandi, 2012).
A corrections professional who effectively utilizes MI develops competency in eight progressive processes that match supervisee’s change process of exploring ambivalence, building motivation and commitment to change. There are eight progressive processes to being effective at Motivational Interviewing: The Spirit of Motivational Interviewing, Supervisee Centered Learning Skills (OARS), Recognizing and Reinforcing Change Talk, Eliciting and Strengthening Change Talk, Handling Resistance, Developing a Change Plan, Consolidating Supervisee Commitment, and Switching Between MI and Other Methods.
