{"id":17738,"date":"2025-11-11T15:01:56","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T20:01:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/cfar\/2017\/02\/mi-components-process-of-motivational-interviewing\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T14:22:30","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T19:22:30","slug":"mi-components-process-of-motivational-interviewing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/cfar\/2025\/11\/mi-components-process-of-motivational-interviewing\/","title":{"rendered":"Process of Motivational Interviewing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The definition below provides an excellent overview of the philosophy of MI, and the atmosphere that best supports an individual contemplating a change in their lives:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><strong><i>Motivational Interviewing<\/i><\/strong><i> is a person-centered counseling style for addressing the common problem of ambivalence about change. It is designed to strengthen an individual\u2019s motivation for and movement toward a specific goal by eliciting and exploring the person\u2018s own reasons for change within an atmosphere of acceptance, collaboration, and compassion.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>People often ask if there is a typical rhythm or flow to a Motivational Interviewing session\u2026and the answer, of course, is yes and no. Yes, there is a \u201cmethod\u201d to MI explained through the 4 processes (Engaging, Focusing, Evoking, and Planning) which are often sequential. And no, because even though these processes can often be sequential, they are also recursive. Some imagine these 4 processes as stair steps, each process can build on the next or the client and clinician may dance together up and down the staircase continually returning to prior steps as needed.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/cfar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1380\/2025\/09\/tumblr_inline_okob36Ti1X1t6dtej_540.png\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Again, the \u201cmethod\u201d or 4 processes of MI include Engaging, Focusing, Evoking, and Planning. It is likely that many of you already follow a similar sequence with your clients, and allow for the sequencing to shift, if you believe the session needs to go in a different direction based on the interaction you are having with the client.<\/p>\n<p>Below, are brief definitions of the 4 processes and some aspects of each one as offered by Miller and Rollnick (2013):<\/p>\n<p><strong>Engaging<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><i>Process of establishing a helpful connection and working relationship<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Aspects: asking permission, asking open ended questions, acknowledging that change is difficult, being comfortable with silence, allowing the client to talk more than the clinician, using reflective listening, and affirming client\u2019s choice to be in the session<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Focusing<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><i>Process by which you develop and maintain a specific direction in the conversation about change<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Aspects: many options and tools but perhaps asking about what is important to the client or what they value\u2026and then linking these values to the client\u2019s motivation and behavior, and focus the conversation on whether the client\u2019s values align with their behavior.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Evoking \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><i>Process of eliciting the client\u2019s own motivations for change and lies at the heart of MI<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Aspects: counselor listens for the client expressing motivation to change behavior\u2026this motivation or interest in changing could be related to:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Desire<\/strong>: \u201cI would like to lose some weight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ability<\/strong>: \u00a0\u201cI would be able to take my medications each morning with breakfast.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Reasons<\/strong>: \u201cI would have more energy if I exercised.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Need<\/strong>: \u201cI need to make better choices because I can\u2019t keep living this way\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Planning<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><i>Process of developing commitment to change and formulating a concrete plan of action<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Aspects: the client is moving from talking about <strong><i>why<\/i><\/strong> he or she wants to change to <strong><i>how<\/i><\/strong> he or she plans to do it. Through the collaboration that is occurring with the client, he or she will tell you if they are ready to \u201ctest the waters\u201d and actually begin discussing what the change will look like and how it will happen.<\/p>\n<p>Steps to making the plan <strong>SMART<\/strong> and more sustainable include the following:<\/p>\n<p><strong>S<\/strong>pecific (formulate the plan in terms of actions)<\/p>\n<p><strong>M<\/strong>easurable (something you could assess at the next session)<\/p>\n<p><strong>A<\/strong>ttainable (is it realistic to achieve before the next session?)<\/p>\n<p><strong>R<\/strong>elevant (is the goal relevant to the client\u2019s situation?)<\/p>\n<p><strong>T<\/strong>ime Bound (set dates for specific actions)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong><i>Additional information about the 4 processes are located in previous blog posts, and lastly, Miller and Rollnick have also created several questions that may be helpful to ask yourself during each step of the process:<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Engaging:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>How comfortable is this person in talking with me?<br \/>\nHow supportive and helpful am I being?<br \/>\nDo I understand this person\u2019s perspective and concerns?<br \/>\nHow comfortable do I feel in this conversation?<br \/>\nDoes this feel like a collaborative partnership?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Focusing:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>What goals for change does this person really have?<br \/>\nDo I have different aspirations for change for this person?<br \/>\nAre we working together with a common purpose?<br \/>\nDoes it feel like we are moving together, not in different directions?<br \/>\nDo I have a clear sense of where we are going?<br \/>\nDoes this feel more like dancing or wrestling?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Evoking:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>What are the person\u2019s own reasons for change?<br \/>\nIs the reluctance more about confidence or importance of change?<br \/>\nWhat change talk am I hearing?<br \/>\nAm I steering too far or too fast in a particular direction?<br \/>\nIs the righting reflex pulling me to be the one arguing for change?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Planning:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>What would be a reasonable next step toward change?<br \/>\nWhat would help this person to move forward?<br \/>\nAm I remembering to evoke rather than prescribe a plan?<br \/>\nAm I offering needed information or advice with permission?<br \/>\nAm I retaining a sense of quiet curiosity about what will work best for this person?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><i>For more information about Motivational Interviewing resources, Eunice Akinyi Okumu, by phone (919) 843-2532, or by email, <a href=\"mailto:eunice_okumu@med.unc.edu\">eunice_okumu@med.unc.edu<\/a><\/i><i>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The definition below provides an excellent overview of the philosophy of MI, and the atmosphere that best supports an individual contemplating a change in their lives: Motivational Interviewing is a person-centered counseling style for addressing the common problem of ambivalence about change. It is designed to strengthen an individual\u2019s motivation for and movement toward a &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/cfar\/2025\/11\/mi-components-process-of-motivational-interviewing\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Process of Motivational Interviewing\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103351,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"layout":"","cellInformation":"","apiCallInformation":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[369,334,310],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mi-components","category-mi-components-questions","category-motivational-interviewing-blog","odd"],"acf":[],"featured_image":false,"featured_image_medium":false,"featured_image_medium_large":false,"featured_image_large":false,"featured_image_thumbnail":false,"featured_image_alt":false,"category_details":[{"name":"MI Components","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/cfar\/category\/motivational-interviewing-blog\/mi-components-questions\/mi-components\/"},{"name":"MI Components and Questions","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/cfar\/category\/motivational-interviewing-blog\/mi-components-questions\/"},{"name":"Motivational Interviewing Blog","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/cfar\/category\/motivational-interviewing-blog\/"}],"tag_details":[],"_links_to":[],"_links_to_target":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/cfar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/cfar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/cfar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/cfar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/103351"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/cfar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17738"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/cfar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17738\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19919,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/cfar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17738\/revisions\/19919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/cfar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/cfar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/cfar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}