Empowering Change:
Motivational Interviewing for Therapists Supporting Teens and Families
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This 6-part training series is designed to equip therapists working with adolescents and families with practical Motivational Interviewing (MI) skills to enhance engagement, strengthen therapeutic alliances, and support positive behavior change. Each session will be two hours in length over zoom, combining didactic instruction, interactive activities, and skills practice to ensure participants leave with actionable tools.
10:00am – 12:00pm PT | Join the Zoom
Idea Keeper
A place to reflect on what you're learning throughout the training. Guides you to remember specific therapeutic actions you'd like to do more and less of as you work with clients.
The Path of Motivational Interviewing - The Four Processes
A more in-depth look into the key components of MI interactions. A nice reminder sheet to have with you as you're building your MI muscles!
Primary Tasks of Each Stage
Guides clinicians on how the MI and Stages of Change models work together and finding an appropriate focus to meet the client where they are in their change process.
The Relationship Between Motivational Interviewing and Trauma-Informed Care
This handout shows the similarities between the trauma-informed care and motivational interviewing frameworks. MI, in many ways, takes TIC principles and puts them into action.
Ambivalent Client Role-Plays
Session exercises to practice responding to common client concerns.
Living Into Our Values
Brené Brown's expanded values clarification exercises to use for your personal goals or with clients.
Decisional Balance Worksheet
A handout to use with clients to assist in exploring ambivalence to change.
Values Clarification Exercise: Strengthening Motivation to Change
A multi-step exercise to help you identify your core values and connect them to your goals.
Change Talk Exercise Questions
Questions therapists can use to elicit change talk.
Strategies for Evoking Change Talk
Strategies that therapists can use to effectively elicit change talk during sessions.
Darn Cat in Motivational Interviewing
This model helps therapists recognize and evoke change talk.
What Matters–A Cultural Case Study
A case study involving a woman struggling with alcohol use after becoming unemployed.
The Change Companies Video archive - Many excellent video resources demonstrating MI strategies.
Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers - An international organization committed to promoting high-quality MI practice and training.
Teach Project Video Series - How to/how not to do motivational interviewing.
Group MI for Teens - Guidance on facilitating our motivational interviewing-based interventions in group settings with young people.
Value Card Sort Exercise - A web-based values card sort.
Your Facilitator
Robert Scholz is a licensed marriage and family therapist and professional clinical counselor. He has served in many clinical and leadership roles over his twenty-five years, working in university, community mental health, forensic and private practice settings. Robert is well-known for his work as a trainer and consultant in assisting schools/ universities and communities prepare for and respond to major crisis events like wildfires, mass shootings and other tragedies. A member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT), Robert has trained thousands in MI skills and truly enjoys watching participants catch the spirit of MI through deliberate practice training and skills coaching. Robert has served as an Adjunct Professor of Psychology at Pepperdine’s Graduate School of Education and Psychology for many years and has authored publications on the topics of disaster mental health, addiction treatment, and men's mental health. He also serves as an Affiliated Consultant with DPREP Safety, a leader in the field of threat management, workplace violence prevention and school safety.