Motivational interviewing for teens is a time-tested and evidence-based approach to helping people recover from substance use disorders. In fact, this unique style of therapy was developed specifically to help people overcome addiction and cater uniquely to people who are ambivalent about making a change.

The counselors and therapists with Foothills at Red Oak Recovery® incorporate motivational interviewing techniques at several phases of treatment for our adolescent clients. To learn more about our comprehensive treatment programs for teen boys, call 828.519.5047 to speak to one of our representatives today.

Common Motivational Interviewing Techniques

Motivational interviewing is distinct from other forms of therapy in several ways. The techniques and methods of motivational interviewing place the client at the center of the therapeutic interaction. They don’t attempt to lecture or tell clients what’s best for them, and they emphasize the client’s role in their own recovery process.

Rather than telling clients what to do, motivational interviewing relies on techniques such as:

• Asking open-ended questions about teen’s substance use
• Asking teens what recovery looks like for them
• Listening to teen’s thoughts, emotions, and behaviors and reflecting them back
• Cultivating a teen’s motivation for change
• Helping teens make their own plans for recovery

By emphasizing client choice, the path to recovery isn’t external but internal. Teens make the choice to work toward recovery on their own and don’t feel pressured into acting in a certain way because a mental health professional tells them they should.

Examples of Motivational Interviewing

Since motivational interviewing is such a unique style of therapy, people are often unsure of what to expect during the therapeutic process itself. Furthermore, examples of motivational interviewing can be difficult to come by, as it’s more a style of conversation than a manualized process for clinicians to follow.

Motivational interviewing is a technique therapists use to let their clients lead the way. Rather than telling clients that substance use is a problem, for instance, they ask about the issues substance use has caused for clients.

Rather than telling teens how to stay sober, motivational interviewing therapists ask teens what they think would help them recover from a substance use disorder.

This technique is based on a simple concept. When teens voice plans for recovery themselves, they are more likely to follow through on those plans. When they share their own experience of the negative effects of substance use, those effects feel more real than when someone else tells them so.

Further, motivational interviewing helps move teenagers through the different stages of change and builds the motivation to keep working on their recovery despite the challenges they may face.

What Are the Stages of Motivational Interviewing?

There are several stages of motivational interviewing—and change itself—that play an important role in the therapeutic process. Sometimes called the “transtheoretical model of change,” the stages therapists try to identify and help clients through include:

1. Precontemplation
2. Contemplation
3. Preparation
4. Action
5. Maintenance

By identifying the stage of change the client is currently in, a motivational interviewing therapist can use specific techniques and strategies to help guide clients forward to the next stage. As teens progress and become more grounded in their recovery, they move into further stages of change and solidify their chances of staying sober.

Enroll Your Teen in Treatment at Foothills at Red Oak Recovery®

At Foothills at Red Oak Recovery®, our team is dedicated to providing the best in addiction and mental health services for adolescent boys. Motivational interviewing is just a single component of our comprehensive addiction treatment program.

To get started with effective and evidence-based treatments for your teenage boy, call our team today by calling 828.519.5047 or using our online contact form.