Intermediate / Advanced Motivational Interviewing for Therapists and Social Service Providers 

Time: 9:00am-4:00pm

Location: Virtual

Instructor: Ann Marie Roepke, Ph.D., Evoke Training and Consulting, PLLC

CE credits: 6 CE's (pending)

Course Description:

How can we help our clients make positive changes in their behavior -- without nagging, shaming, persuading, or arguing? Motivational interviewing (MI) is an evidence-based counseling approach that can help individuals change behaviors they might feel ambivalent about, such as exercising, quitting or reducing alcohol/drugs, adopting safer sex practices, taking important medications, engaging in behavioral activation, or starting psychotherapy. In this 6-hour intermediate-level training, participants will build upon their existing MI skills through interactive and experiential learning activities. We will focus on topics that may impact Veterans we serve, including motivation to seek help for mental health, addressing PTSD, addressing substance use concerns, management of chronic pain and health conditions. 

Participants will have the chance to:

• Learn to assess others' MI skills (using qualitative and quantitative methods and coach/supervise others' MI practice
• Review the MI spirit, processes, and principles
• Hone their use of MI micro-skills (open-ended questions, affirmations, reflections, summaries) to evoke change talk
• Practice responding effectively to sustain talk and discord within the helping relationship
• Give advice and information in a motivating way

Training participants will have the opportunity to learn in a variety of ways including lecture, demonstrations, discussions, experiential learning activities, and role plays designed to give them a richer understanding of the use of motivational interviewing in therapeutic and healthcare settings.

 Objectives:

At the end of this training participants will be able to:

1. Distinguish between change talk and sustain talk in real-time conversations
2. Explain the fundamental spirit and guiding principles of MI
3. Demonstrate two ways to evoke change talk
4. Demonstrate use of MI-consistent complex reflections
5. Describe how MI can be used to respond to sustain talk and discord
6. Explain an MI-consistent style for offering advice or information
7. Assess how, where, and when MI may be beneficial in the participant’s clinical/work setting

References:

Bahri, A. A. (2025). Motivational Interviewing to promote healthy lifestyle behaviors: Evidence, implementation, and digital applications. Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare, 6629-6642.

Lundahl, B., Howey, W., Dilanchian, A., Garcia, M. J., Patin, K., Moleni, K., & Burke, B. (2024). Addressing suicide risk: A systematic review of motivational interviewing infused interventions. Research on Social Work Practice, 34(2), 158-168.

Pinto e Silva, T. P., Gouveia, C., Santirso, F. A., Cunha, O., & Caridade, S. (2025). Effectiveness of motivational interviewing with justice-involved people: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychosocial Intervention, 34(2), 89.

Possemato, K., Mastroleo, N. R., Balderrama-Durbin, C., King, P., Davis, A., Borsari, B., & Rauch, S. A. (2024). A randomized controlled pilot trial of primary care treatment integrating motivation and exposure treatment (PC-TIME) in veterans with PTSD and harmful alcohol use. Behavior Therapy, 55(3), 570-584.