ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the fundamental philosophy, principles and skills of motivational interviewing (MI). It explores therapeutic interactions where motivational interviewing can be usefully applied. The chapter shows that how motivational interviewing can fit in with other therapeutic approaches, such as cognitive behavioural therapy. Practitioners who do not have specific training in MI can use it as a tool in the craft of caring by incorporating some of its principles and skills within a framework that addresses three important elements of change: motives and readiness; ambivalence and barriers; self-efficacy and capacity. These elements are interlinked and the conversation between a practitioner and a service user may shift from one element to another. Nurses and other practitioners within multidisciplinary teams often feel under pressure to persuade someone to change for the better, but paradoxically, the determined pursuit of this can be counterproductive.
