​Recently I started a new position at a local university as an Applied Learning Facilitator in the Office of Field Education for graduate level social work students. Naturally as a Motivational Interviewing (MI) enthusiast, I immediately looked for ways to incorporate my MI passion into my new job. One of my primary roles in this position is to act as a field advisor to practicum students, and I believe that MI could fit quite naturally in the 30 minute advising appointments that I have with students. I believe that by utilizing some MI skills and the MI spirit, an advisor such as myself can be more student-centered and more effective in helping students in their professional growth and development. What follows is a review of some literature written on using MI in advising-type roles, and toward the end of this article I have included some of my thoughts on how I and other advisors might use MI in the advising appointment.

One of the most important and most rewarding roles of a supervisor is supporting staff in their development by facilitating a staff's self reflection. In a clinical setting, this often means supporting staff in looking inward to identify both strengths and areas of growth. A good supervisor is able to guide a staff member in this reflective process and ultimately support a staff member in developing a plan to change their approach or actions in some way that improves their performance, self efficacy or outcomes. While supporting a staff in this self exploration can seem simple, it is one of the most challenging tasks that supervisors face.

Agenda setting is an important part of the one-on-one supervison meeting. Agenda setting is "a short focusing metaconversation in which you step back with the client to choose a direction from among several options" (Miller and Rollnick, 213). When used in a one-on-one supervison meeting (referred to in this article simply as "supervision"), this term refers to a collaborative conversation between the supervisor and the supervisee about what supervision topics are important to talk about. Ideally this conversation ends with a prioritized list of topics for supervison that is agreed to by both the supervisor and supervisee. 

As an MI enthusiast, I am always seeking opportunities to practice OARS skills. As a supervisor of 8 clinicians, the primary way that I interact with individuals one-on-one is during supervision, so it naturally fits that I have taken advantage of this time to practice the use of OARS. At first this practice was clumsy and awkward, and after about 6 months of practicing this 8 times weekly, it continues to be challenging yet rewarding.  I find that when I am able to use OARS with staff, it helps them to develop their inner locus of control, builds their perceived self efficacy and helps to strengthen the relationship between supervisor and supervisee. I have found that using OARS with staff is the most efficient way of communicating information and the use of these skills yields better results from the supervision conversation.

Motivational Interviewing teaches that the natural helping instinct of jumping to problem solving is anything but helpful. Solving problems for others can take away autonomy, deplete another's sense of self efficacy and deprive an individual of lessons that can be learned through failures and successes alike. When a clinician solves a problem for a client, the solution imposed onto the client tends to be more generic and less of a good fit. The client is less likely to follow through with the solution. Even if the solution is carried through, the client will not get credit for it; if the solution works the client will credit the clinician, but if the solution fails the clinician is to blame. Fixing problems for clients damages the therapeutic alliance, violates a client's autonomy and does not promote healthy interdependance in a client. Problem solving often comes from a clinician's drive to help, but it can ultimately harm the client.