Motivational Interviewing in Health Care

“I highly recommend this book to directors of clinical services, analysts, therapists of all disciplines, and students. It has survived my usual skepticism for ‘new’ approaches and has inspired me to seek training and supervision in MI.”

—Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic (on the first edition)


“This book is an excellent introduction to MI and has been written to help clinicians integrate this guiding style into their practice. It is crammed with techniques and draws on a wide range of clinical material to illustrate how they can be used....Although not explicitly written for work with adolescents, there is a great deal of useful and relevant material. This is a highly readable book and an excellent resource both for novice and experienced MI practitioners.”

—Child and Adolescent Mental Health (on the first edition)


“This book is a helpful tool for all practitioners seeking a better commitment to behavior change in their patients. The skill set needed to accomplish the goal of behavior change is already developed in most clinicians. This book guides the reader through the process of honing those skills and switching effortlessly through the various methods of patient interaction to best achieve change.”

—Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (on the first edition)


“Motivational Interviewing in Health Care offers a new approach in communicating for nurses—particularly providers treating patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes and obesity—and all health care professionals working to assist patients in making lifestyle changes for better health....As information technology relentlessly invades the realm of patient care, we find ourselves with less time to communicate with and teach our patients, so the time we do have must be optimized....Provides many examples of MI conversations, giving the reader insight into how MI communication works.”

—Registered Nurse (on the first edition)


“Practitioners such as nurses, the largest group of health care providers, will welcome the opportunity to add MI to their toolkits....Recommended.”

—Choice Reviews (on the first edition)


“Will prove useful for practice nurses, health visitors, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, general practitioners, and mental health professionals....Excellent.”

—Nursing Standard (on the first edition)


“The book provides an excellent description of state-of-the-art patient-centered communication for both newbies and established practitioners who are looking for a refresher in MI spirit.”

—American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine (on the first edition)


“Provides practical guidance on how clinicians in health care settings can apply MI to promote change in a range of health-related behaviors....Has the potential to make an important long-term impact on both individual and population health outcomes.”

—Drug and Alcohol Review (on the first edition)


“Whether you are a health care professional-in-training or an experienced practitioner, this book is for you! The second edition is chock-full of information on current everyday challenges in a busy practice, including medication adherence, pain management, vaccine hesitancy, weight loss, addressing multiple behavior changes, working with hostile patients, and using MI remotely. The book weaves together the spirit of MI and micro-skills with newer processes of engaging, focusing, evoking, and planning, which are essential to facilitating behavior change. Highlights include practitioners’ reflections, practical exercises, annotated clinical scenarios, and sample open-ended questions for each process. This book can help you rediscover the joys of clinical work and prevent burnout by using MI to create more satisfying, efficient, and effective patient conversations.”

—Melanie A. Gold, DO, DMQ, Professor of Pediatrics and Population and Family Health, Columbia University Irving Medical Center


“We use this book as one of the texts in our Advanced Health Promotion and Disease Prevention course, which introduces MI skills to advanced practice registered nurses. The students learn to see patients as people first, and to achieve better outcomes by using partnership, acceptance, compassion, and empowerment. The text has simple instructions with practical tools for application. This book fits into the classroom and practice setting as a resource for many health care disciplines.”

—Melanie Markham, MSN-ED, RN, Adjunct Faculty, School of Nursing, Regis College


“Health care has been stuck in the ‘righting reflex,’ trying to fix patients by projecting science onto them. But to truly shift towards healthy outcomes, patients want our hearts and our ears before our science. This book guides us toward a process of care that is more effective for those we serve and more rewarding for ourselves. The second edition thoroughly updates this classic resource for delivering value-based care.”

—David Rakel, MD, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health


“Full of helpful tips to help clinicians guide their patients to achieve better health outcomes. I have been using the principles of MI since I first had the pleasure to learn this impactful approach more than 20 years ago. Each section of the book describes a step in the journey of helping people change their behavior by having constructive conversations during brief clinical visits. The second edition revisits and refines MI techniques in a practical, teachable format. All providers should become familiar with these critical elements of behavior change.”

—Robert A. Gabbay, MD, PhD, FACP, Chief Scientific and Medical Officer, American Diabetes Association; Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School


“Rollnick, Miller, and Butler do a terrific job of breaking down MI skills for students and practitioners using MI for health behavior change. The case examples are a wonderful tool to help the reader understand key concepts. In all aspects of health care, we come across clients who could benefit from changing behaviors, and this book is instrumental as a guide. In the second edition, I especially enjoyed the new chapter on MI for administrators and managers and the case study on vaccine hesitancy.”

—Toby Spiegel, PsyD, School of Health Sciences, California Southern University of Health Sciences


“An essential handbook for any practitioner who strives to have a positive impact on people's health and well-being. Written with the busy clinician in mind, this second edition guides you through the spirit and skills in a way that makes MI feel accessible and easy to implement in high-pressure environments. I will keep this book by my side in every meeting with clients. I cannot think of a single area in health care where this book would not be needed.”

—Orla Adams, MSc, primary care dietitian, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, United Kingdom; member, Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT)


“As an internist, when I first learned MI, a colleague suggested that I try it with patients who had uncontrolled diabetes or hypertension, the bread and butter of my practice. Only then did I see the opportunity to sprinkle MI into every primary care interaction. This wonderful book provides scenarios relevant to diverse medical specialties and settings, helping clinicians to immediately apply the spirit, processes, and powerful skills of MI. It provides timely insights into using MI remotely, in groups, and to address vaccine hesitancy. The case studies in the final section pull it all together and challenge learners to think about how they would respond and what they would say, thus preparing them to hit the ground running with their own patients.”

—Damara Gutnick, MD, Departments of Family and Social Medicine; Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences; and Epidemiology and Population Health, The Albert Einstein College of Medicine


“In its second edition, this is a 'must-have' text for graduate health and human services students who want to communicate effectively with their patients/clients for positive outcomes. The text will be especially helpful for interprofessional education courses on communication skills, as there are various health care setting examples along with sample dialogue and practice exercises. The book is also for experienced practitioners who want to stay abreast of the current thinking and practice of MI. Rollnick, Miller, and Butler have written a book that is delightful to read, clear, concise, and addresses current topics such as using MI remotely and MI and vaccine hesitancy.”

—Melinda Hohman, PhD, MSW, School of Social Work (Emeritus), San Diego State University