Motivational interviewing uses the common human problem of ambivalence about change to help clients shape their own solutions.
Motivational interviewing (MI), first described by William R. Miller, PhD, in 1983, is a form of collaborative counseling that elicits, explores, and engages a client's own motivation for change. Foundational to the method is the common human problem of ambivalence about change; that ambivalence can be used to support a behavioral shift that is congruent with a client's own values and concerns. The MI literature is vast. Following is a very small taste of MI theory, followed by additional resources.