Motivational interviewing (MI) is a therapeutic technique used to increase a person’s motivation for recovery and commitment to long-term change. This modality helps individuals strengthen their self-motivation for change, rather than attempting to change to please others. Through motivational interviewing, individuals evaluate both the pros and cons of their life choices and behaviors, as well as what might be stopping them from making healthy choices. The client determines what changes they want to make according to their own needs and goals.

Motivational interviewing is a collaboration between the clinical staff and the client with a strong emphasis on the client’s ideas, feelings, and decisions. It is often used in conjunction with other recovery interventions, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, mindfulness and stress management techniques, and participation in other recovery support groups.This therapy accentuates the positive traits and innate wisdom in each person. When individuals have strong confidence and self-esteem and clear personal values, they can more easily commit to making the healthy life choices necessary for long-term recovery.

We incorporate motivational interviewing into treatment for most clients at Sagepoint IOP. This therapeutic approach helps clients realize that they have the potential and desire to change their behavior for themselves, as opposed to changing due to outside influences or pressure.

Motivational interviewing can help anyone in the early stages of their recovery to take the next step on their recovery journey. When used alongside additional clinical therapy, motivational interviewing can provide added clarity and purpose to individuals looking to change addictive or harmful behaviors.

Motivational interviewing takes place between a client and their clinical team, who will lead them through a guided exploration of why they want to recover and the choices they have made up to this point. Insights from this process can help the client as they move through additional forms of therapy, such as therapeutic groups.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a form of psychological treatment that has demonstrated effectiveness for a range of problems including, depression, anxiety, addiction, eating disorders, and co-occurring mental illness. Research suggests that CBT can lead to significant improvement in functioning and quality of life. CBT is based on core principles, recognizing that psychological problems are based, in part, on faulty or unhelpful ways of thinking and learned patterns of unhelpful behavior. Clients can use CBT to relieve symptoms through efforts to change their thinking and behavior patterns while working through what is going on in their lives currently, rather than what happened in the past. Our CBT-trained therapists work with clients to understand the problem and establish a treatment plan.