Has motivational interviewing fallen into its own premature focus trap?

Hilton, C. E., Lane, C. and Johnston, L. H. (2016) Has motivational interviewing fallen into its own premature focus trap? International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, 38(2), pp. 145-158. (doi: 10.1007/s10447-016-9262-y)

Abstract

Since the initial conception of the behaviour change method Motivational Interviewing, there has been a shift evident in epistemological, methodological and practical applications, from an inductive, process and practitioner-focussed approach to that which is more deductive, research-outcome, and confirmatory-focussed. This paper highlights the conceptual and practical problems of adopting this approach, including the consequences of assessing the what (deductive outcome-focussed) at the expense of the how (inductively process-focussed). We encourage a return to an inductive, practitioner and client-focussed MI approach and propose the use of Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Systems such as NVivo in research initiatives to support this aim.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Johnston, Dr Lynne
• Authors: Hilton, C. E., Lane, C., and Johnston, L. H.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > General Practice and Primary Care
• Journal Name: International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling
• ISSN: 0165-0653
• ISSN (Online): 1573-3246
• Published Online: 22 April 2016