What Is Motivational Interviewing?

Throughout societies, individuals from time to time are constantly faced with inevitable life circumstances and crises in varying areas of their lives where they are forced to employ coping strategies as a way of dealing with their situations. Such skills can either be healthy or unhealthy where effectiveness varies and is based on subjective reports derived from individuals. Likewise, within the field of mental health, individuals encounter struggles in different areas including emotional, social, cognitive and psychological where their ability to engage in effective reasoning and problem solving becomes impaired thus allowing them to become incapable of making appropriate decisions. Conversely, many such individuals resort to inappropriate use of medicated drugs, excessive smoking and alcohol consumption. Consequently, this may lead such individuals to engage in substance abuse. Substance abuse in accordance with the World Health Organization is defined as “the harmful or

It “was proposed as an alternative model to direct persuasion for facilitating behavior change” (Wahab, 2005, p. 45). “Motivational interviewing is a client centered and directional therapeutic method distinguished by a focus on spontaneous language about change that emerges within an empathetic interpersonal context” (Moyers, 2014, p. 358). Its intended use is for “enhancing intrinsic motivation to change by exploring and resolving ambivalence” (Arkowitz, Westra, Miller & Rollnick, 2010, p. 373). Additionally, change is derived from evoking individuals’ reasons, desires and willingness for change through use of clients’ own speech as a means of clarifying and strengthening their intent (Moyers, 2014). In essence, motivational interviewing is predominantly concerned with assisting clients in making a decision to