It is possible to experience conflicting desires, such as changing your behaviour and thinking that you’re not ready to change your behaviour. The motivational interviewing approach holds that resolving this ambivalence can increase a person’s motivation to change.
What is Motivational Interviewing (MI)?
Motivational Interviewing is a counselling approach designed to help people find the motivation to make a positive behaviour change. This client-centred approach is particularly effective for people who have mixed feelings about changing their behaviour.
Motivational Interviewing (MI) was developed as a respectful, collaborative way to help people strengthen their own reasons for change. Rather than telling someone what to do, Motivational Interviewing invites a conversation in which the person explores what matters to them, what gets in the way, and what small next step would feel genuinely doable. The assumption is simple and compassionate: you already hold wisdom about your life; therapy helps you hear it more clearly.
Motivational Interviewing is often brief and focused, making it suitable for many settings—mental health clinics, primary care, schools, and community programmes. It can stand alone or be blended with other approaches such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), and medication support when indicated.
The Spirit of MI: PACE
Motivational Interviewing rests on a particular stance—its “spirit”—summarised by the acronym PACE:
- Partnership: Change is a collaborative process. We work with you, not on you.
- Acceptance: We honour your autonomy, affirm strengths, and aim to understand your internal world with accuracy and respect.
- Compassion: Your welfare is our priority. We track what reduces suffering and increases freedom.
- Evocation: Rather than installing motivation from the outside, we draw out your own values, reasons, and ideas.
This spirit shapes every intervention. Even when a clinician shares education or options, the tone remains curious and collaborative: “Would you like to hear a few possibilities?” rather than “You should…”
Key Elements of MI
✽ Collaboration over Confrontation
Instead of being aggressive or argumentative with the client, the therapist will attempt to see the situation from the client’s point of view. Along these lines, the therapist is not the expert because no one understands the client’s experience better than the client. The goal here is for the therapist to act as a support rather than a persuader.
Confrontation often triggers defensiveness and shutdown. Collaboration lowers threat, so you can think clearly about pros and cons, hopes and fears. This makes change more likely to stick.
✽ Evocation Instead of Education
In other forms of therapy, like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, the client is given information by the therapist to encourage change in their ways of thinking, beliefs, or behaviours. At times, this approach can trigger feelings of defensiveness in the client.
Motivational Interviewing has the goal of creating an internal desire for change from the client. The therapist listens more than talks and draws out the client’s perceptions instead of imposing perceptions on him. This way, the client will be more interested in maintaining the change over a more extended period.
When change reasons come from you—your values, your goals, your people—motivation tends to be sturdier. Education can still play a role, but only with permission and always folded back into your priorities.
✽ Autonomy Rather than Authority
Motivational Interviewing places all the power on the client. The therapist shows respect for the client’s responsibility and decision-making ability.
You decide whether, when, and how to change. The therapist’s job is to help you weigh options, clarify values, and build confidence so your next step fits your life—not an abstract ideal.
How does it Work?
In MI, counsellors help people explore their feelings and find their motivations. They do this using four primary techniques. Therapists gather information by asking open-ended questions, show support and respect using affirmations, express empathy through reflections, and use summaries to group information.
These micro-skills are often called OARS: Open-ended questions, Affirmations, Reflections, and Summaries. Used with care, they transform a conversation from pressure into possibility.
✽ Open-Ended Questions
Open-ended questions are questions you cannot answer with a simple “yes” or “no.” Instead, these types of questions encourage you to think more deeply about an issue.
Such questions often start with words like “how” or “what,” and they allow your therapist to learn more about you. Examples of open-ended questions include:
- “How would you like things to be different?”
- “What have you tried before to make a change?”
- “What can you tell me about your relationship with your parents?”
Further examples you might hear include: “What would make this worth it for you?” “If things improved a little, what would you notice first?” “When has this been less of a problem?”
✽ Affirmations
Affirmations are statements that recognize a person’s strengths and acknowledge their positive behaviours. Done right, affirmations can help build a person’s confidence in their ability to change.
Examples of affirming responses include:
- “You are a very resourceful person.”
- “You handled yourself well in that situation.”
- “I am so glad you came into the clinic today. I know it is not always easy to seek help.”
- “I appreciate that it took a lot of courage for you to discuss this with me today.”
Good affirmations are specific and genuine: “You went a whole week without missing your evening dose—that shows commitment, especially with your workload.”
✽ Reflective Listening
Reflection or reflective listening is perhaps the most crucial skill therapists use. Reflection lets a client know that their therapist is listening and trying to understand their point of view. It also allows the client to correct any misunderstandings and to elaborate on their feelings.
Reflections can be simple (“You’re torn”) or complex (“Part of you wants the relief a cigarette brings, and another part is tired of the cough and the cost”). Accurate reflections often reduce defensiveness and increase insight.
✽ Summaries
Summaries are a particular type of reflection. They show that the therapist has been listening and understand what the client has been saying.
Therapists can use summaries throughout a conversation. Some examples of summarizing techniques include:
- Collecting
Collecting reinforces what the client has said. For example, a therapist might say, “Let me see if I understand what you have said thus far.”
- Linking
Linking entails making associations between two parts of the discussion. For example, a therapist might say, “A minute ago, you said you wanted to talk to… Maybe now we can talk about how you might try…”
- Transitioning
Transitioning wraps up the end of a session or moving on to another topic. For instance, a therapist might say, “A minute ago you said… But the last time we met, it seemed like… What do you think about that?”
Ambivalence, Change Talk, and Sustain Talk
Ambivalence—wanting two things at once—is normal. In MI, we listen for two kinds of language:
- Change talk: your own statements that favour change (e.g., “I want…,” “I could…,” “It would help if…”). We strengthen and explore these.
- Sustain talk: your statements that favour staying the same (e.g., “It’s not that bad,” “I’ve tried before”). We acknowledge these without arguing, then gently return to your goals.
A helpful guide is DARN–CAT:
- Desire (“I want to sleep better”)
- Ability (“I can avoid screens after 10pm”)
- Reasons (“I think I’d be less irritable at work”)
- Need (“I need my energy back”)
- Commitment (“I will put the phone in the kitchen”)
- Activation (“I’m ready to try it tonight”)
- Taking steps (“I did it for two nights”)
Therapy aims to evoke DARN language and help it mature into CAT language—small, specific actions that build momentum.
Scales, Goals, and Confidence
Motivational Interviewing often uses quick rating scales to turn motivation into action:
- Importance ruler: “On a scale from 0–10, how important is this change?” Then, “Why are you at a 5 and not a 2?” to elicit reasons already in favour of change.
- Confidence ruler: “How confident are you that you could take one small step this week?” If the number is low, we ask, “What would move it by one point?”
- Readiness ruler: A snapshot of overall readiness today, used to tailor the pace.
We then co-create SMART-ish next steps—Specific, Meaningful, Adjustable, Realistic, Time-linked—so the plan flexes with real life.
What a Brief Motivational Interviewing Conversation Can Sound Like
Therapist: “On the one hand, coffee late at night helps you power through; on the other, sleep has really suffered.”
You: “Exactly.”
Therapist: “If sleep improved a little, what would you notice first?”
You: “I’d be less snappy with my kids.”
Therapist: “Being more patient matters to you.”
You: “A lot.”
Therapist: “Given that, what’s one small experiment you’d be willing to try this week?”
You: “Switch to decaf after 3pm.”
Therapist: “From 0–10, how confident?”
You: “A 7.”
Therapist: “Nice. What makes it a 7?” (evoking strengths)
Common Areas Where Motivational Interviewing Helps
- Substance use and harm reduction
- Medication adherence and health behaviours (sleep, exercise, nutrition)
- Chronic illness self-management
- Anxiety, low mood, and perfectionism (unsticking avoidance)
- Procrastination and study habits
- Relationship and communication patterns
MI is also useful when motivation wavers—after relapse, during life transitions, or when goals feel imposed by others (family, work, courts). The stance remains non-judgmental and forward-looking.
Blending Motivational Interviewing with Other Supports
MI plays well with others. We might use Motivational Interviewing to clarify what you want from therapy, then add CBT skills for panic, or sleep hygiene steps, or a medication discussion with your physician. MI keeps the roadmap yours, so other tools feel more relevant and are easier to sustain.
Practical Tips to Try This Week
- Two lists: Write the “Good things about staying the same” and “Good things about changing.” Notice both with honesty and kindness.
- One small step: Choose an action so small you’re 8/10 confident you will do it (e.g., fill a water bottle each morning; set an alarm to stretch).
- Language shift: Replace “I should” with “I choose to / choose not to, because…” and hear how autonomy affects energy.
- Notice change talk: When you hear yourself say “I want / could / need,” write it down. Collect your own reasons; they matter.
Working with Us at Psychology Blossom
Our clinicians use MI’s collaborative, empathic style to help you move from stuck to starting. We listen for your values, reflect strengths you may be overlooking, and co-create next steps that respect your context, culture, and capacity. Whether change is urgent or experimental, we go at a pace that feels safe and sustainable.
If you’re curious about Motivational Interviewing for yourself or a loved one, we’re here to help you turn ambivalence into informed, confident action.
Everyone Deserves to Blossom.
We recommend This Video to those who wants to learn more about Motivational Interviewing.
About Us
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