Advanced MI Online

Advanced MI Online

This interactive, online course is based on the book, Motivational Interviewing: Helping People Change (3rd Ed., 2012). This course is recommended for front line workers, who wish to enhance or deepen their Motivational Interviewing (MI) skills. It is recommended that those taking the course use MI regularly in their interactions with clients. If you are new to MI we would recommend taking Introduction to MI first.

In this course participants will be guided through a sequence of learning activities to move from basic competence to more advanced MI skillfulness in their areas of work.

Course Objectives

In this course, you will:

  • Review the Motivational Interviewing concepts of:
    • Acceptance
    • Partnership
    • Compassion
    • Evocation
  • Explore the “Spirit of MI” and engagement strategies.
  • Understand the difference between reluctance and resistance.
  • Practice examples of responding to resistance and review five resistance lowering techniques:
    • reflective listening
    • amplified reflection
    • double-sided reflections
    • shifting focus
    • emphasizing personal choice and control
  • Deepen your understanding of the Evoking Process.
  • Explore the balance between the technical and relational components of the evoking process.
  • Describe the Motivational Interviewing term of “discrepancy” and be able to explain discrepancy and how this condition can influence the increase of positive behavior change.
  • Work at identifying techniques for developing discrepancy and get some practice at using techniques that develop and increase discrepancy in clients.
  • Deepen your understanding of change talk is and why is this so important in the MI approach.
  • Review the seven kinds of change talk in Motivational Interviewing.
  • Apply strategies for evoking and deepening change talk.

Course Descriptions (**Note:  modules can be taken separately)

Module 1: The Spirit of MI: Explores in detail the four (4) essential elements of MI: Partnership, Acceptance, Compassion, and Evocation. Participants witness the difference between an interview conducted in the spirit of MI and one that is not. The myth of the unmotivated client is explored.

Module 2: Resistance Examined: New Tools for an Old Problem: Reviews the processes and principles of MI, and then looks at how to work with clients who don’t want to work with you. Moves to examine how to both recognize, and respond to resistance. Practices responding to resistance and teaches five resistance-lowering techniques that you’ll want to have in your tool box.

Module 3: Four Processes: Will add depth to your understanding of the Four Processes and the Micro-Skills used in each process and further clarify a framework that practitioners can use in the Evoking Process. Participants will also explore the intricate balance of the technical and relational components of the evoking process.

Module 4: Recognizing and Eliciting Change Talk: Identifies types of change talk and building desire to change, ability, reason and need to change. This module explores skills for recognizing and reflecting change talk. Teaches the process of asking open questions, reflecting a client’s own change talk, affirming their perceptions, and summarizing.

Module 5: Developing Discrepancy: Takes another look at recognizing and eliciting change talk and considers what you can do when you hear no change talk. Particularly important as sometimes change talk is in short supply or nonexistent this module also explores ways of creating or evoking change talk to increase motivation.

Module 6 Responding and Reinforcing: Considers how to build motivation through increasing change talk and enhancing a sense of collaboration. Teaches ways to avoid self-reinforcing loop of “push-push back” and finds the advantage to “protecting the negative.”

Module 7: Deepening Change Talk:  Explores how to deepen client change talk to mobilizing change talk, the conversation moves from the early stages of exploring ambivalence to commitment language.

Course structure

As often is the case with on-line courses this one is set up in modules to be completed in order. Each module encompasses interactive material that includes engaging presentation slides with audio, videos, and assignments.

The material is broken out into self-directed learning modules. The modules are designed to be completed over a seven week period (one module per week).  There are 7 modules and each module consists of online & offline components. Participants can request an extension to complete the modules if needed.

Given the nature of Motivational Interviewing where the interaction between client and counselor is fundamental, communications with a client or “practice client” will be important throughout the modules. If you do not have access to a client or it is not appropriate or feasible to practice in your work setting, it is fine to invite a friend, family member or colleague to role-play with you.

A coach is available for questions and will provide ongoing feedback your assignments.

Course Length & Certificate of Completion

Participants will receive a certificate of completion if they complete all 7 training modules (6-7 hours) and roughly 6-7 hours of out of class assignments.

There are no required textbooks for this course, however, participants can enhance their learning through the purchase of Motivational Interviewing 3rd Edition, from Drs. Miller and Rollnick.

**Should you like to take a module separately please contact us for pricing information.  Contact:  gs-empoweringchange@mymts.net

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