Empowering Change: A Training for Occupational Therapy Practitioners in Motivational Interviewing
May 09-11, 2025
12-Hour Training

Course Description: 
Motivational interviewing (MI) is an effective approach to overcoming the ambivalence that keeps many people from making desired changes in their lives. Occupational therapy practitioners and other healthcare professionals will find this method of therapeutic communication to be an effective tool to both understand the nature of behavior change and to develop the skills to identify readiness for change; and, ultimately, to facilitate the process. 

This is a live, interactive course  in which participants will apply MI principles through role-playing. This is designed to be a supportive learning environment where participants will be actively engaged in practicing MI skills. While this course is designed to be applied to OT practice, the content covered can be applicable to any population, therefore, all disciplines are welcome.

This is a 12-hour course held across 3 days (4 hours per day). Participants are expected to fully participate for the entire course.

Learning Objectives: 
Following the course, participants will be able to:

• Explain the theoretical foundations, principles, and core concepts of motivational interviewing, including the spirit of MI, the importance of collaboration and evocation, demonstrating empathy, and fostering a supportive and non-judgmental therapeutic alliance.
• Recall MI OARS strategies acronym: Open-ended questions, Affirmations, Reflective listening, Summarizing. 
• Apply MI strategies, such as open-ended questions, affirmations, reflective listening, summarizing, eliciting change talk, and responding to discord. 
• Identify client-centered goals, and develop action plans that align with the client's values, preferences, and strengths.
• Demonstrate use of MI strategies with a client to amplify intrinsic motivation, explore ambivalence, highlight discrepancies between current behavior and goals, and reinforce clients' beliefs in their ability to change.
• Utilize MI strategies to collaboratively explore a client's ambivalence with initiating change.
• Summarize how they will integrate MI into their existing practice frameworks, such as assessment, treatment planning, goal setting, intervention delivery, and/or evaluation. 
• Infer how they would approach adapting MI strategies to different populations, cultural contests, and practice settings.  

Schedule: 
Participants will log into the course Zoom meeting and remain logged in for the entire duration (4 hours per day). Participants will be asked to turn on their cameras while engaged in the course, especially when practicing MI skills with partners (role-playing). This is an interactive course that requires active participation.

Instructor: 
Jesús Díaz OTD, OTR/L is a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers, with over 12 years of experience in training healthcare professionals and organizations with the transformative skills of motivational interviewing. Passionate about instilling confidence and efficacy in practitioners, Jesús thrives on the opportunity to lead dynamic training sessions, where he fosters an environment of growth and skill enhancement. Through these trainings, healthcare professionals and organizations emerge equipped and empowered to navigate complex client interactions with empathy, compassion, and efficacy, ensuring better outcomes for both providers and their clientele.

Financial Disclosure: Presenter receives financial compensation as an employee of USC Chan. Non-Financial Disclosure: There are no non-financial relationships to the content of this course.

Cancellation Policy:  A refund, less $50 administrative fee, will be made if a cancellation notice is received 10 business days prior to the course start date. Refunds cannot be offered if a cancellation notice is received less than 10 business days prior to the course start date. Cancellation by instructor/USC will result in full refund.

Audience: This is an introductory level activity designed for OT practitioners, however, all levels of experience and disciplines are welcome.

Prerequisites: None

Course Requirements: Participants must demonstrate motivational interviewing skills through role-playing and complete course evaluation.

Special Needs Requests: If you require ADA accommodations, please email details of request(s) to [email protected] at least 1 week prior to the training start date and we will make every effort to be responsive to requests.

CEU Credit: This course is 12 contact hours. Participants must demonstrate motivational interviewing skills through role-playing and complete the course evaluation in order to receive a certificate of attendance. The course evaluation is to be completed within 7 days of course completion in order to receive CEU credit. Certificates will be available within 2 - 3 weeks after the course end date.

USC Chan is an AOTA Approved Provider of professional development. PD activity approval ID # 9286. This distance learning - interactive activity is offered at 1.2 CEUs, Introductory, OT Service Delivery and Foundational Knowledge. The assignment of AOTA CEUs does not imply endorsement of specific course content, products, or clinical procedures by AOTA.