Motivational interviewing

Abstract

Motivational interviewing is a style of patient-centred counselling developed to facilitate change in health-related behaviours. The core principle of the approach is negotiation rather than conflict. In this article I review the historical development of motivational interviewing and give some of the theoretical underpinnings of the approach. I summarise the available evidence on its usefulness and discuss practical details of its implementation, using vignettes to illustrate particular techniques.