MI and Psychotherapy

Abstract

How is motivational interviewing (MI) related to psychotherapy more generally?  In its original  formulation MI was intended to address the specific problem of ambivalence about change. It was not designed as a comprehensive psychotherapy or model of change. Subsequent clinical experience, however, suggests ways in which the spirit and method of MI may be useful throughout processes of change. Implications for a volitional psychotherapy are considered, with additional discussion of clinical applications of decisional balance.