Continuing Education - Upcoming Events
Introduction to Motivational Interviewing (MI) Training
This 2-day Introduction to Motivational Interviewing (MI) training provides a comprehensive overview of MI, a client-centered, evidence-based approach to fostering behavior change. Designed for professionals in mental health, addiction treatment, and other helping professions, this workshop will teach participants the core principles and skills of MI, including expressing empathy, developing discrepancy, and supporting self-efficacy. The training will also focus on key MI concepts such as ambivalence and change talk, which are critical to helping clients move toward meaningful, lasting change.
Key Learning Objectives:
Understand the fundamental principles of Motivational Interviewing, including engagement, focusing, evoking, and planning.
Learn how to engage clients in a collaborative, non-judgmental dialogue that encourages them to explore and resolve ambivalence — the natural uncertainty that often arises when clients are torn between change and maintaining the status quo.
Develop practical skills to identify and elicit change talk — statements that reflect the client’s desire, ability, reasons, and need to change, which are essential for motivating change.
Gain the tools to help clients move toward sustainable changes in areas such as substance use, health behaviors, and mental health by building on their intrinsic motivation.
Understand how MI aligns with person-centered care and evidence-based practices, ensuring that clients feel empowered to take an active role in their own recovery process.
This workshop is ideal for therapists, social workers, coaches, and healthcare providers looking to enhance their communication skills and improve client outcomes through an empathic and empowering approach to treatment.
Brief Interventions for Substance Use: Training for Physicians
This 2-hour training is designed for physicians, including primary care physicians and psychiatrists working with mental health patients, who wish to enhance their ability to address substance use concerns in clinical settings. The training focuses on delivering brief, evidence-based interventions that can be easily integrated into routine patient care. Participants will learn strategies for screening for substance use, engaging patients in motivational conversations, recommending medication-assisted treatment (MAT), and making referrals to specialized care.
Key Learning Objectives:
Screening for Substance Use: Learn how to use standardized screening tools to identify substance use in patients during routine visits.
Effective Communication: Gain skills in engaging patients in motivational discussions, helping them explore the benefits of change, and addressing ambivalence toward treatment in a non-judgmental, empathetic way.
Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT): Understand the medications available for managing opioid and alcohol use disorders, and how to discuss MAT options with patients to support long-term recovery.
Referral to Specialty Care: Learn when and how to refer patients to specialty addiction treatment, ensuring they receive the appropriate level of care for their needs.
This training is ideal for primary care physicians, psychiatrists, family doctors, and internists who are looking to improve their ability to manage substance use in the primary care and mental health settings. It provides practical, time-efficient strategies to incorporate brief interventions into everyday clinical practice, ultimately improving patient outcomes and supporting their recovery journey.
Substance Use, Addiction, and Its Treatment for Mental Health Generalists
This 8-hour training is designed for mental health generalists, including therapists, counselors, social workers, and other clinicians, who work with individuals dealing with substance use and addiction. The course provides a foundational understanding of substance use disorders (SUDs), common treatment approaches, and practical tools to support individuals who are dealing with substance use concerns. Participants will learn how to recognize substance use patterns, understand the biopsychosocial factors involved in addiction, and develop essential skills to incorporate evidence-based treatment strategies into their practice.
Key Learning Objectives:
Understand the basics of Substance Use Disorders (SUDs), including diagnostic criteria and common symptoms.
Explore the biopsychosocial model of addiction, learning how biological, psychological, and social factors contribute to substance use and addiction.
Learn about the most common substances of abuse (e.g., alcohol, opioids, stimulants) and their effects on the brain, behavior, and mental health.
Gain an introduction to evidence-based treatment approaches for addiction, including Motivational Interviewing (MI) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).
Learn practical strategies for working with clients who have substance use concerns, including how to foster motivation for change and how to address ambivalence.
Gain an understanding of how to identify co-occurring mental health disorders (e.g., anxiety, depression) in individuals with substance use concerns and how to approach treatment.
This training is ideal for mental health professionals, including therapists, counselors, social workers, and psychologists who work with individuals facing substance use issues and want to deepen their understanding of addiction treatment approaches.
Introduction to Motivational Interviewing (MI) for Fitness Professionals
This full-day (8-hour) training is designed for fitness professionals, including personal trainers, group fitness instructors, coaches, and other fitness experts who want to enhance their ability to engage and motivate clients using Motivational Interviewing (MI) techniques. MI is a client-centered, evidence-based approach that helps individuals explore and resolve ambivalence about change, empowering them to reach and sustain their fitness goals. This training is designed for professionals with no mental health background — just a passion for helping clients make lasting, positive changes in their fitness journey.
Key Learning Objectives:
Understand the fundamentals of Motivational Interviewing: Learn the core principles of MI, including engagement, evoking change talk, and supporting self-efficacy.
Create a collaborative environment: Learn how to establish a non-judgmental, empathetic dialogue with clients that encourages them to explore their motivations and set fitness goals.
Address ambivalence: Gain techniques for recognizing and resolving ambivalence, which is common when clients are unsure about committing to exercise or making other changes.
Develop change talk: Understand how to elicit and reinforce change talk — the client’s own words about wanting to change — to boost motivation and create momentum toward fitness goals.
Set goals and maintain motivation: Learn effective strategies for goal-setting, developing action plans, and addressing common barriers to success (e.g., lack of time, motivation, or confidence).
Provide advice and information effectively: Learn the Elicit-Provide-Elicit (EPE) technique, a client-centered approach to offering information. Understand how to elicit client input, provide tailored advice, and then elicit feedback to ensure the advice is understood, accepted, and integrated into their fitness goals.
This training is ideal for fitness professionals such as personal trainers, coaches, group fitness instructors, and wellness professionals who want to improve their ability to motivate and engage clients in a non-judgmental, client-centered way. No mental health background is required — just a desire to learn how to foster client motivation and support long-term success in fitness goals.
Training Schedule:
Morning Session (2 hours): Overview of MI and Its Spirit
Introduction to MI:
What is Motivational Interviewing (MI)?
Core principles and MI spirit:
Collaboration: Working with clients as partners.
Evocation: Drawing out the client’s own motivations.
Autonomy: Supporting the client’s sense of control and choice.
MI Spirit in Action:
Empathy and non-judgmental listening as central elements.
Engagement: Building rapport and trust in the fitness setting.
Open-ended questions and reflective listening:
What open-ended questions are, why they work, and when to use them.
Reflective listening: How to reflect back clients’ thoughts, feelings, and statements to enhance engagement and encourage deeper exploration.
Midday (Before Lunch)
Practice and Group Discussion on Open-Ended Questions and Reflective Listening:
Role-play small exercises for open questions and reflective listening.
Discuss common mistakes and how to apply them effectively with clients in a fitness context.
Afternoon Session (3 hours): Deep Dive into Change Talk and Ambivalence
Post-Lunch Focus (1 hour)
Understanding Ambivalence:
What is ambivalence and why is it common in fitness and health behavior change?
Strategies for recognizing ambivalence in clients’ statements and behaviors.
How to use open questions and reflective listening to help clients explore their mixed feelings toward change.
Change Talk (1 hour)
Eliciting Change Talk:
What is change talk and why is it vital for encouraging lasting change?
Techniques for encouraging clients to articulate their desire, ability, reasons, and need to change.
The role of affirmations in reinforcing change talk.
Incorporating Elicit-Provide-Elicit (EPE) (30 minutes)
Elicit-Provide-Elicit (EPE):
Understanding the EPE model: A powerful strategy for providing clients with information in a collaborative and client-centered way.
Elicit: Asking clients about what they know or think about a specific topic related to fitness or health.
Provide: Offering clear and concise information (e.g., about exercise benefits, injury prevention, etc.), ensuring it aligns with the client’s interests or goals.
Elicit again: Checking in with the client to ensure they understand and resonate with the information, and to explore how they plan to incorporate it into their fitness goals.
Role-play and practice integrating EPE into fitness discussions to enhance client understanding and engagement.
Role-plays and Practice (1 hour)
Scenario-Based Role-Plays:
Fitness professionals will practice using open questions, reflective listening, eliciting change talk, and EPE in real-world fitness scenarios.
Group feedback and discussion to highlight key skills and areas for improvement.
Final Wrap-up and Q&A (1 hour)
Integrating MI into Fitness Practice:
Summarizing key takeaways and how to apply MI techniques consistently in everyday fitness interactions.
Creating an action plan: Setting goals for applying MI with clients after the training.
Final Q&A: Address any lingering questions and challenges fitness professionals may face when implementing MI techniques.
Book Your Event Here
Licensed Providers
Hannah K. Howell, PhD, JD, MSCP
[CA PSY17487 / WA PY 61076404]
[PSYPact/APIT 20176]
Alison Bateman, PhD, C-DBT
[CA PSY19916]
Paula Wilbourne, PhD
[HI PSY-1029]
We provide personalized therapy, advanced professional training, and expert consultation, leveraging decades of clinical expertise and research to address complex mental health challenges.
Licensed Provider
Hannah K. Howell, PhD, JD, MSCP [CA PSY17487 / WA PY 61076404] [PSYPact/APIT 20176]
Alison Bateman, PhD [CA PSY19916]
Paula Wilbourne, PhD [HI PSY-1029]
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