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In this episode, Dr. Stephen Rollnick and I have a discussion about Motivational Interviewing which is a counseling approach he co-developed with Dr. William R. Miller. Motivational interviewing is a directive, client-centered counseling style for eliciting behavior change by helping clients to explore and resolve ambivalence. Our conversation digs deeply into the roles of empathy and compassion with a specific focus on the skill of empathic listening.

We also discuss the reasons why he developed Motivational interviewing based on his experiences as a clinical psychologist many years ago. He has taken his Motivational Interviewing to elite sports and now works with many top coaches and athletes helping them to unlock the internal resources within themselves to thrive and flourish in their sport. It was an honor to interview Stephen and I hope you find value in this discussion.

About Stephen:
Stephen Rollnick provides consultancy, mentorship and training on the subjects of motivation, change, teamwork and Motivational Interviewing. He an Honorary Distinguished Professor in the School of Medicine in Cardiff University, Wales, UK with a research record focused on good practice in efforts to promote change and behaviour change among patients, clients and the practitioners who serve them.

Stephen is also a clinical psychologist with many years of experience in service provision and in the training of practitioners. This work, much of it on motivational interviewing (MI), has taken him into diverse cultures and settings. He has now retired to focus on training, writing and consultancy, in the fields of healthcare and sport.

Stephen is a co-founder of Motivational Interviewing.  His work has included support to programmes for pregnant teens, children with HIV-AIDS in Africa and medication adherence in different areas.  He is a co-founder of PATA (Paediatric Aids Treatment for Africa) and the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT), an international network for trainers.  He is the co-author of Motivational Interviewing: Helping People Change(Miller and Rollnick, 1991; 2001 & 2012), Health Behaviour Change: A Guide for Practitioners (Rollnick, Mason & Butler, 1999) and Motivational Interviewing in Health Care (Rollnick, Miller & Butler, 2008), Motivational Interviewing in Schools (2016) and is completing a book on motivational interviewing for sports coaches.

Individual consultation on a case by case base is available on request in a wide range of settings including education, sport and healthcare.

Connect with Stephen:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/stephenrollnick
Website: https://www.stephenrollnick.com/

Special thanks to Bronx band Conversing with Oceans & Alex Bondarev for creating the podcast music.
https://www.conversingwithoceans.com/