Client experiences of motivational interviewing: An interpersonal process recall study

To explore clients' experience of the therapy process in motivational interviewing (MI) for alcohol abuse. Design A qualitative study using grounded theory. Methods Interviews with nine clients were conducted using interpersonal process recall (IPR), a methodology which utilizes a video recording as a cue to aid memory recall. Clients watched a videotape of their MI session and were asked to identify and describe the important moments in the therapy session. The transcribed interviews were then analysed using grounded theory. Results A single session of MI is seen by the clients in this study as a complex interpersonal interaction between client and therapist, which impacts on the client's cognitive and affective intrapersonal processes. Conclusions The themes which emerged partly confirm processes of MI previously hypothesized to be important, but also highlight the importance of factors common to all therapeutic approaches.