Motivational Interviewing Training Opportunities

Training Opportunities

We understand that a variety of constraints prevent agencies from optimal implementation of MI. So we provide four levels of implementation support, catering to the needs of a wide-range of agencies:

Level 1: Introduction to Motivational Interviewing (MI)

For agencies that are required to have some familiarity with MI, but only have the resources for an initial training.

  • 1-day overview of MI principles and skills
  • 3-days of staff training

Level 2: Short-Term Motivational Interviewing (MI) Implementation

For agencies that want to ensure that current staff implement trained skills in their work settings, but do not have the resources to support ongoing training and performance measurement.

Level 3: Long-Term Motivational Interviewing (MI) Implementation

For agencies that want to ensure that current and future staff continue to implement trained skills in their work settings, and who have the resources to contract with external trainers and coaches for periodic MI trainings and performance measurement.

  • 3-days of staff training
  • Follow-up tape critiques
  • Follow-up phone coaching
  • (Semi-) annual staff tape critiques and coaching
  • Training for new staff

Level 4: Internal Long-Term Motivational (MI) Implementation

For agencies that want to build the internal capacity to keep current and future staff using MI effectively in their work settings.

Understanding Motivational Interviewing (MI) for Corrections

Motivational Interviewing is a person-centered, directive method for enhancing intrinsic motivation to change by exploring and resolving ambivalence.

J-SAT Director, Brad Bogue, discusses Evidence-Based Practices and Motivational Interviewing

In the past, many counselors and criminal justice workers have tried to get people to change through advocacy methods such as coercion, persuasion, lecturing, unsolicited or unilateral advice, authoritative or expert stances, or emphasizing diagnostic labels. While some of these methods can be effective at producing short-term change, the change usually lasts only as long as criminal justice sanctions require offender compliance.

Developed by William Miller & Steven Rollnick (1991), MI is based on considerable treatment effectiveness research from the ‘80s and 90’s. MI has succeeded where advocacy-based interventions have failed, largely through recognizing the different thought patterns and stages that people go through in the process of changing significant maladaptive behaviors. Its skills and principles enable clients to strengthen their commitment to changing maladaptive or anti-social behaviors by focusing on their own desire, self-efficacy, need, readiness, and reasons to change. Clients can pose their own best reasons for changing, and once committed, are better able to think of and enact realistic steps toward pro-social alternatives to current problems.

MI methods of interacting with clients often include:

  • Seeking to understand their frame of reference through reflective listening
  • Expressing acceptance and affirmation
  • Eliciting and selectively reinforcing their own expressions of problem recognition, concern, and desire, intention, and ability to change
  • Monitoring their degree of readiness to change, and ensuring that resistance is not generated by jumping ahead of where they are prepared to go
  • Affirming their freedom of choice and self-direction.

MI does seek to "confront" clients with reality, but this method is more collaborative than aggressive styles of confrontation. MI has been applied to an extraordinary range of resistant populations: addicts, sex offenders, emergency room intakes, medical patients, etc. Probation, parole, jail, and case management staff have used MI to achieve higher quality assessment information, better engage their clients’ motivation to change criminogenic lifestyles, as well as successfully negotiate client participation in supervision or treatment plans.

Become a Motivational Interviewing (MI) trainer!

For agencies that want their staff to become MI trainers so that they may conduct future trainings and “booster sessions” on-site, this workshop:

  • Trains staff in the fundamentals of MI
  • Identifies participants who show the potential to become in-house MI trainers
  • Trains identified trainers in training content and methods
  • Coaches trained trainers as they practice implementing the basic MI course

Workshop Phases

Training Phase I: Fundamentals of MI (3 Days)

If your staff have not previously received an MI Fundamentals training, we will deliver the full 3-day workshop in which participants:

Begin with the Basics

  • Learn the difference between MI and advocacy methods of leading people to change,
  • Observe video and live demonstrations of MI skills,
  • Practice demonstration of core MI skills in minimum of four practice interviews—much more than other MI workshops provide.

    View Detailed Workshop Outline

Receive Immediate Normative Feedback

  • J-SAT uses a copyrighted software application to give participants immediate objective feedback on their MI performance. Graphed profiles show individual participant performance as compared with the class average, targeting specific areas of improvement. Workshop facilitators explain individual performance results to the participants and coach participants between sessions for improvement on later practice sessions.

    View Mid-Training Feedback Report

If your staff have already received the MI Fundamentals course, we will deliver a 1-2 day abbreviated "booster session" that prepares staff for the following training phases.

Interim Period between Phases I and II

Tape Critiques and Written Feedback

  • After training has been completed, participants will submit taped interviews to certified J-SAT staff to critique. Each interviewer will receive a comprehensive report, giving graphed and written field-performance feedback and coaching.

    View Post-Training Feedback Report

Follow-Up Phone Coaching

  • After participants receive their feedback report, trainers follow-up with ½ hour telephone consultations allowing participants to receive help with implementing MI skills effectively in their area of work. Recent studies on MI training have shown that this workshop / written critique / telephone-coaching model to be the most effective means of ensuring skill retention.

    View Phone Consultation Form

Selection of MI Trainers

  • From among course participants, J-SAT trainers recommend those who should be trained as MI trainers and lead trainers based on: Demonstration of knowledge and skill retention during Phase I (measured through pre- and post-tests and mid-training exercises) Normative performance ratings from tape critique reports. Trainers will also note and report to the agency contact: Champions of the training and its expected outputs / outcomes, Opinion leaders having influence in the direction of expected outputs/outcomes, Managers directly involved by the training, and who may play a role in implementing it.

Post-Training Agency Feedback Report

  • After the initial training is completed, specified contact persons in your agency will receive a post-training report including: Graphs highlighting training group strength and growth areas in pre- and post-test knowledge gains and pre- and post-training skill implementation levels, Written suggestions about on-going participant coaching, and Lists of organizational development issues raised during training that will be key to ongoing implementation of MI skills.

    View Sample Training Report Training

Phase II: Content and Methods for Training MI (4 ½ Days)

During the first 4 days, two J-SAT trainers alternate between presenting modules of training content and methods to participant-trainers and then helping them to practice what they have learned. On the final half-day of the training, all participant ratings are evaluated and 6-8 lead trainers are selected from among the group. Participants debrief their Phase II experience and learn what to expect for the next phase.

Training Phase III: Coaching New Trainers as They Train (3 Days)

Soon after the completion of Phase II, one J-SAT trainer returns to coach the new trainers as they conduct segments of the in-house MI Fundamentals training program. Usually, this requires three full days. To train your staff in tape critiquing MI interviews to ensure that practitioners are using MI skills in their daily tasks, please also consider our MI Interviewer Critiquer Training.

Want to know more?

This program can be tailored to meet specific needs. To find out which level of implementation is appropriate for your agency needs and budge, please contact us and a J-SAT representative can assist you directly.

Contact Us
2450 Central Ave. Suite A-1, Boulder, CO 80303 | 877-572-8232 | 303-544-9876