Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment
Volume 30, Issue 3 , Pages 245-251, April 2006

Therapist influence on client language during motivational interviewing sessions

  • Theresa B. Moyers, Ph.D.

      Affiliations

    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Department of Psychology, Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse, and Addictions, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-1161, USA. Tel.: +1 505 925 2375; fax: +1 505 925 2393.
    • ,
  • Tim Martin, Ph.D.

Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse, and Addictions, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-1161, USA

Received 11 August 2005; received in revised form 12 December 2005; accepted 18 December 2005.

Abstract 

Client language in favor of change is hypothesized to be a causal mechanism for motivational interviewing (MI), and specific therapist behaviors are prescribed to elicit such speech. This project examined 38 motivational enhancement therapy sessions from Project MATCH (Matching Alcoholism Treatments to Client Heterogeneity), using a sequential behavioral coding system to investigate the relationship between therapist behaviors and client speech. Conditional probabilities were calculated between MI-consistent (MICO) therapist behaviors, MI-inconsistent (MIIN) therapist behaviors, and immediately subsequent client speech. MICO behaviors were more likely to be followed by self-motivational statements, whereas MIIN behaviors were more likely to be followed by client resistance. These results lend support to the importance of therapist behaviors in shaping client speech during MI sessions.

Keywords: Motivational enhancement therapy, Motivational interviewing, Project MATCH

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PII: S0740-5472(06)00007-9

doi:10.1016/j.jsat.2005.12.003

Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment
Volume 30, Issue 3 , Pages 245-251, April 2006

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