An exciting new Motivational Interviewing course is currently being piloted. The course is fully online and uses a Virtual Client Conversation tool to enable students to practice their emerging skills in a safe environment.

Motivating clients to change their behaviours is crucial across all health professions to address the growing burden of chronic conditions. However, health professionals often lack the skills and confidence to use counselling interventions to motivate and support patients’ behaviour change and mobilise the patient’s own resources and self-efficacy for change to address their own long-term needs. The pilot project is funded by a Health Seed Grant from Breakthrough Mental Health Research Foundation, and will form the basis for the development of an App to provide health professionals with an accessible and cost-effective training resource to help develop and maintain their motivational interviewing skills.

For further information regarding this exciting research project, please contact Dr Candice Oster