Coaching Toolkit for Child Welfare

Chapter 4: Capacity Building 93

An overview of motivational interviewing (MI) is provided for
two purposes:

1. MI is a powerful technique when working with someone
   going through a change process, and MI may assist the
   coaching process.


2. MI is evidence-based and as a result is gaining significant
   popularity in the field of child welfare. Staff within the child
   welfare agency may well be versed in MI, or MI may be a
   learning goal or objective in a coaching program.

Learners may demonstrate a lack of

motivation by having (a) low tolerance

for client fallibility; (b) poor relationships

with clients, other staff, and the coach

and/or supervisor; and (c) lack of follow

through on assignments and tasks they

have done successfully in the past.

Motivational interviewing

A recent definition of motivational interviewing is “a collaborative,
person-centered form of guiding to elicit and strengthen motivation
for change” (Miller & Rollnick, 2009, p. 137). The initial description
of motivational interviewing was developed through the
groundbreaking research of Miller and Rollnick (1995) on clients