WHO IT IS FOR: NYC non-profit community-based organizations, or City/State agencies, who:

• Deliver social services directly to community members in New York City
• Want to strengthen staff skills for guiding people toward positive behavior changes     
• Have decided to implement MI in one or more programs
• Will complete the comprehensive training, coaching, and implementation support activities   
• Are eager to collaborate across roles (senior leaders, supervisors/managers, direct care staff) to implement MI 
• Want to sustain MI learning and practice in your organization beyond the MI certificate program

Organizations might benefit most if:

• Your staff have routine or ongoing contacts with community members (e.g. 4+ contacts with a typical client) 
• You are not undertaking other significant training initiatives, or launching new programs, at the same time

Organizations or teams can apply for the 2022-2023 MI Certificate Program by October 7, 2022.

1. Complete the required MI Certificate Information Session

• Attend the live session on Sept 20th at 10:00am, or
• Register here to view a recording of the information session (passcode: MIcert23!) 

2. Each organization or team will submit one application by October 7, 2022.

• Designate two primary contacts who will submit the application, including at least one senior team member
• Coordinate internally to submit one application on behalf of your organization or team

For additional information, please read our full program description here.

WHAT IS MI? 
Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a collaborative, goal-oriented conversation style for strengthening a person’s own motivation and commitment to making behavior changes. MI gives providers tools to have conversations in which community members are more likely to imagine positive changes for themselves; increase confidence in their ability to make a change; and take action that is consistent with their goals and values.

MI is an evidence-based practice that has been evaluated in over 200 clinical trials. It has been shown to promote positive behavior change across a broad range of health and social problems, implementation settings, and cultures. MI started as a treatment for harms related to alcohol and drug use, and there is robust evidence for MI’s effectiveness in helping people reduce those harms. MI has also been shown to help people make a wide range of other positive behavior changes, leading to improvements in areas of life that include disease management and prevention; engaging in treatment or other services; and more.

MI has shown effectiveness as a stand-alone practice, as a way to strengthen other practices (such as behavioral health screening or problem management skills), and as a precursor to other kinds of treatment. MI has been applied in settings that include health care, public health, social services, corrections, and education. [1]   

HOW CAN MI BE USEFUL TO SOCIAL SERVICE PROVIDERS?
There are two key components of Motivational Interviewing, both of which have value for social service providers and the communities you work with: 

1. Core principles. The core principles of Motivational Interviewing are a way of being with others. They include strategies to: 

a. Develop collaborative, respectful, and strengths-based partnerships between service providers and community members.

b. Create an accepting environment that allows people to explore their own thoughts and make decisions about change. Consistent with trauma-informed and growth-oriented practices, MI helps providers expand a person’s feeling of choice, affirm their strengths, and support their autonomy. 

 c. Demonstrate compassion by promoting the other person’s welfare and giving priority to the other person’s needs and goals, rather than our own goals or interests.

d. Evoke and strengthen people’s own ideas about and resources for change. MI starts from the strengths-based perspective that people have what they need to accomplish positive changes, and gives providers tools to guide conversations in helpful ways.  

Applying these principles can help providers:

• Engage community members and build rapport
• Reduce and deescalate arguments or conflicts, and diffuse difficult situations
• Create empowering service environments where people are more likely to make and sustain positive changes, leading to improved outcomes
• Strengthen trauma-informed and growth-oriented practices    
• Help staff define their roles in helpful ways and manage the emotional demands of their work

2. Specific conversation skills. MI gives providers skills to facilitate conversations where people are more likely to decide on and make positive behavior changes. MI can be applied to conversations about many kinds of behavior change based on the setting you work in and the population(s) you work with.

MI gives providers tools to:

• strengthen active listening skills
• apply MI principles, including by creating effective partnerships; demonstrating acceptance, compassion, and accurate empathy; and supporting autonomy
• pay attention to the particular language of change
• guide conversations about change through four key processes: engaging, focusing, evoking, and planning
• use MI skills to strengthen peoples’ motivation for and commitment to change, including: open questions, affirmations, reflections, and summaries
• determine when someone is ready for planning and develop effective action plans

DOES OUR ORGANIZATION NEED TO ENROLL STAFF IN ALL 3 TRACKS?
Yes. Only organizations that commit to enrolling staff in all 3 tracks will be accepted to the MI Certificate Program.

CAN I SIGN UP AS AN INDIVIDUAL?
No, we cannot accept individual applications for this program. The MI Certificate Program only accepts applications from organizations or teams who commit to enrolling staff in all 3 of the Program’s tracks.

WILL THE MI CERTIFICATE PROGRAM OFFER CEUs?
The Academy is not able to offer CEUs at this time. Those who complete any of the program’s 3 tracks will receive a certificate from CUNY SPS that will indicate the activities completed. Additionally, certificates will indicate when learners achieve MI proficiency or demonstrate other successful practice changes, based on the track.

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