SOCW 6204 Walden University Motivational Interviewing Discussion

An emergent school of thought dictates that the most stimulating component for disease prevention and wellness promotion may reside within the individual patient. Eliciting patient behavior change, however, is a paramount challenge for today’s health professional teams, including medical social workers.

Motivational interviewing is a collaborative, client-centered, goal-oriented method of communication. It helps to resolve ambivalence and identify and strengthen an individual’s motivation for change. Motivational interviewing is an evidenced-based practice that has been employed with diverse patient populations and across a variety of settings.

Rollnick, Miller, and Butler (2008) argue that motivational interviewing has a place in informing communication between patients and health care providers that can influence how patients feel, how they behave, and their overall health outcomes. Within the context of health and illness, motivational interviewing can be used on micro levels (i.e., during consultations between patients and providers) and on macro levels (i.e., throughout population-centered health education programs).

To prepare for this Discussion, consider the major components of motivational interviewing. Think about clinical and public health issues to which you can apply motivational interviewing.

By Day 4

Post a description of the major components of a motivational interview. Explain the goals of motivational interviewing. Describe direct applications of motivational interviewing to a clinical situation in a health care setting. Be specific and use examples or scenarios such as patient population or disease condition to illustrate your response. Then, explain the direct applications of motivational interviewing to a public health issue or situation. Finally, discuss the disciplines of medical social work in which a social worker would be most likely to use motivational interviewing.