Motivational Interviewing course in Rotterdam

The Motivational Interviewing course is suitable for anyone whose work involves conversations with people who are resistant to change. Think of coaches, care workers, healthcare professionals, managers, consultants, trainers, sales staff and teachers. You learn to reduce resistance and increase motivation for change, based on the scientific work of Miller and Rollnick. No prior knowledge is required.

During the Motivational Interviewing course you learn to reduce resistance and increase motivation for change, based on the academic work of Miller and Rollnick. You work on four conversation steps: dealing with ambivalence, connecting with the other person, eliciting change talk and bringing the conversation to a successful close. You practise actively with real situations from your own work.

The course is based on the method of Miller and Rollnick, the academic founders of motivational interviewing. You learn to work with the four steps for moving from resistance to 'yes language', to recognise ambivalence and to elicit change talk. The course is taught in a classroom setting in groups of no more than eight participants.

No, no prior knowledge is required for the Motivational Interviewing course. You can start straight away, whatever your background as a coach, care worker, manager, adviser or healthcare professional. Prior to the course, an intake takes place in which the trainer identifies your personal learning objectives. On that basis, the programme for the course day is tailored to your situation.

The Motivational Interviewing course is given in a small group of no more than eight participants. This group size gives you enough personal attention from the trainer and room to practise conversation techniques actively. An intake takes place beforehand, so that the programme matches your personal learning objectives and workplace situations.

Motivational interviewing (MI) is a specific method, developed by William Miller and Stephen Rollnick, aimed at reducing resistance and eliciting change talk in the other person. A general conversation techniques course covers skills such as active listening, summarising and probing in a broad sense. MI goes a step further: you learn to work with ambivalence, to go through four processes (engaging, focusing, evoking, planning) and to deliberately elicit 'yes talk' from someone who is actually reluctant. At Learnit you get (classroom-based, maximum 8 participants) the theory and practice of this specific method. Choose this if you work with clients, customers or employees where resistance is a recurring theme. Not if you mainly want to improve general communication.

A classroom course makes sense if you really want to apply the technique in conversations, not just understand it. Motivational interviewing is about subtle skills: reflective listening, dealing with ambivalence and eliciting change talk. You learn these mainly by practising and getting immediate feedback on your tone, choice of words and timing. The book by Miller and Rollnick gives you the theory, but it does not hold up a mirror to your own conversational behaviour. An online course lacks the space to practise with other participants. At Learnit you practise in a classroom setting in a group of no more than eight people, with a trainer who brings in your own practical situations. Choose classroom if you encounter resistance in real conversations and want to be able to test your skills straight away. Choose self-study if your interest is purely theoretical.

Yes. The method of Miller and Rollnick was developed in addiction care, but it works in any situation in which someone is ambivalent or resistant. During the course you practise techniques that you can use just as well with a colleague who is unwilling to go along with a change, a teenager who does not want to adjust their behaviour, or a family member who is stuck on a choice. The four steps from no to yes and the eliciting of change talk are context-independent. One nuance, though: in personal relationships your role is different from your role as a professional. You are not a neutral conversation partner, which makes it harder to set aside your own judgement. The course gives you a framework you can use in both contexts.