motivational or confrontational interviewing

Systematic Practice and Process


Should those working with offenders motivate or confront?

The following essay intends to discuss whether a person working with offenders should motivate or confront the service user. In order to this the author will discuss the differences between motivational and confrontational interviewing.


Stephen Rollnick and William Miller first introduced motivational interviewing in the 1990’s. The intentions of motivational interviewing were to enable a person to make changes in their behaviour without causing confrontation. Using this technique a person can develop a safe environment in order to help another person recognise the need for a change in their behaviour. If motivational interviewing is carried out effectively a person will start to examine their behaviour for themselves. Those using motivational interviewing techniques believe that the service user is the one who iniates the change and realises their ability to motivate themselv...