III. Deportment: Interview Skills

Basic MI Techniques

Motivational Interviewing makes use of several techniques designed to build trust between staff and offenders, break through denial and resistance, and move offenders through the stages of change. When MI techniques are properly utilized and introduced naturally into conversations with offenders, their level of defensiveness is reduced. It is important to develop the ability to mix MI techniques properly. There must be a healthy balance of open questions, affirmations, summarizations, reflections and selfmotivating statements, as well as a few closed questions and confrontations (as necessary) in order to reduce defensiveness and assist in moving supervision plans forward toward a successful completion.