MI-5 - Your Weekly Dose of Motivational Interviewing

Mikel Gellatly
Jul 27
2 min read

Get ready to dive back in with MI-5, your trusted source for Motivational Interviewing (MI) insights. Each week, we deliver five compact, thought-provoking ideas to spark your curiosity, enhance your skills, and keep you at the forefront of MI practice. Whether you’re an experienced practitioner, a trainer, or simply MI-curious, this newsletter is here to keep your practice fresh and informed.

This week’s theme: Where to start when learning MI.

1. The Essential MI Textbook - 4th Edition

Motivational Interviewing: Helping People Change and Grow by Bill Miller and Stephen Rollnick.

Now in a fully rewritten fourth edition, this is the definitive MI text. It breaks down the four tasks - Engaging, Focusing, Evoking, Planning - with real-world vignettes, updated evidence, and practical tools. Available in print, eBook, and as an audio-book (free on Spotify Premium). The audio format brings the dialogue to life which I highly recommended.

🔗 View on Guilford Press

2. Building Motivational Interviewing Skills - David B. Rosengren

This practitioner workbook is the perfect companion to the main text. It’s full of exercises, examples, and reproducible worksheets to build skill and confidence in MI.

🔗 View on Amazon

3. Free MI eLearning (Insight)

If you prefer interactive, self-paced learning, check out the free MI package from Insight. Four well-designed modules introduce MI spirit and core skills, change talk, tasks and planning and are an excellent starting point.

🔗 Access here

4. Watch: Dr. Stan Steindl - Compassion in a T-Shirt

Stan’s YouTube channel is packed with practical content on compassion & MI.

Jump on, explore, subscribe, you will love it.

🔗 Explore the channel

5. New Book: Motivational Interviewing with Families (Douglas Smith)

For those in child protection, family therapy, or working with systems: this book explores how MI can engage entire families - including reluctant members - and mobilise shared change. Includes annotated dialogues and practice exercises.

🔗 View on Guilford Press

Last Week’s Highlights

Tickets are selling for the 2-Day MI Building Skills Workshop at Mirikai, 191 West Burleigh Road, Burleigh Heads. It’s shaping up to be a diverse group of professionals - don’t miss your chance.

🔗 Get your ticket