Practice and Dissemination of Motivational Interviewing: A Psychology Internship Curriculum

Authors

Julie A. Schumacher, University of Mississippi Medical CenterFollow
Scott F. Coffey, University of Mississippi Medical Center
Daniel C. Williams, University of Mississippi Medical CenterFollow
Michael B. Madson, University of Southern MississippiFollow
Nicholas W. McAfee, University of Mississippi Medical Center

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-1-2020

School

Psychology

Abstract

Sufficient training in substance use issues has been identified as a common gap in professional psychology graduate training. Satisfactory training in evidence-based practices has also been identified as a common gap for providers who care for individuals with substance use problems. The 'practice and dissemination' curriculum we developed seeks to address both of these gaps during the predoctoral internship training year by first training psychology interns to competently deliver motivational interviewing (MI) to individuals with substance use problems and then train community providers and volunteers to do so. From 2012–2013, a total of 55 community providers and volunteers from a homeless shelter, a substance use treatment facility, and a community mental health facility received training in MI through this curriculum by attending continuing education events delivered by 17 psychology interns. Evaluation of the dissemination portion of the curriculum as part of an exempt educational research project revealed that community providers were able to achieve significant increases in MI knowledge, readiness to implement MI, and MI skill as assessed with a video analogue measure by the end of the workshop. They also reported satisfaction with the workshop. These evaluation findings provide preliminary support for the curriculum as a novel and efficacious way to disseminate MI to community providers. Research is necessary to determine long-term outcomes of such training and to identify strategies to overcome potential barriers such as the substantial faculty effort necessary to implement the intensive curriculum. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)

Publication Title

Training and Education in Professional Psychology

Volume

14

Issue

1

First Page

34

Last Page

41

Recommended Citation

Schumacher, J. A., Coffey, S. F., Williams, D. C., Madson, M. B., McAfee, N. W. (2020). Practice and Dissemination of Motivational Interviewing: A Psychology Internship Curriculum. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 14(1), 34-41.
Available at: https://aquila.usm.edu/fac_pubs/17387