ABSTRACT
Nearly a quarter century ago, William R. Miller published a first paper (1983) describing motivational interviewing (MI). Several years later, he and Stephen Rollnick would co-author what is now a seminal text (1991) that delineated the method, its underlying conceptual
basis, and application to various treatment populations. MI evolved from observations in the research literature that brief interventions, containing specific elements, could have powerful effects. It suggested that instead of instruction, skills-training, or shaping of behavior via contingencies, what clients need most is a supportive and nonjudgmental relationship with a practitioner where ambivalence about substance use behavior could be more fully explored and effectively resolved.
