ncept of motivational interviewing was developed by Bill Miller, Ph.D. and Steve Rollnick, Ph.D. It was originally used in the treatment of problem drinkers. Today, it is used in all aspects of addiction counseling, whether it be drugs or alcohol.
             A person must want to change, they must want to make the change. Making a change does not guarantee that the change will be maintained (Miller & Rollnick, 1991). Sometimes a person has no eagerness to change or they believe that they do not have a problem. Often individuals will begin the program with positive reinforcement. That is until a relapse or a slip occurs. It is the counselor's responsibility not only to dispense advice, but to motivate, increase the motivation of the patient (Miller & Rollnick, 1991).
             There are said to be five general principles behind motivational thinking. Because the references used in this paper differ in the importance of each principle, they will be generally listed. The first being the avoidance of argumentation. Simply put, the counselor avoids any arguments with clients. According to Miller & Rollnick (1991), confrontation of clients simply causes most clients to feel attacked and they seem to participate less in treatment. Most individual's will resist the counselor's advice and constantly react and act in the opposite way the counselor wants them to (Zweben, Miller, Rychtarik, DiClemente, 1992).
             The second principle behind motivational thinking is for the counselor to express empathy. According to Miller and
             Rollnick (1991), this is an essential and defining characteristic of this type of therapy. They also claim that through reflecting listening on part of the counselor, the therapist seeks to understand the feelings of client and the client sees this. Thus, making the client trust the therapist and being more open through the therapeutic process. This principle essentially involves seeing the world through the client&ap...