Motivational Interviewing

Interviews are used for a number of different purposes. In this post we are noting the use of interviews to help those who need help with substance abuse issues. The website we reference as holding a great model for “motivational interviewing” is one by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The training model used to promote best practices in motivational interviewing involves:

Asking open-ended questions

Using Affirmations

Forming reflective statements

Providing summaries

This technique is used in micro-counseling skills development and the acronym OARS refers to it. O – open-ended questions; A – Affirmations; R – reflective statements; and for the S – summaries.

While one might question the application in other types of interview situations, including law enforcement, incident investigations, and the like, the competencies or skills sets can be learned and developed and applied across these various types of situations and occupational practices. Read more