Books / Clinical practice & common factors
Motivational Interviewing in Health Care: Helping Patients Change Behavior
Stephen Rollnick, William R. Miller and Christopher C. Butler describe motivational interviewing in health care conversations. This record concerns the first edition, published in 2008.
Book details
Author of listed edition: Stephen Rollnick, William R. Miller and Christopher C. Butler
Edition: First edition, paperback (© 2008); second edition published in 2022
Publisher: Guilford Press
Edition year: 2008
Language and origin: English (United Kingdom / United States)
ISBN: 9781593856120
Form and genre: Treatment Manual & Clinical Guide
Level: Introductory
Historical era: 1980–2009 · Evidence-Based, Trauma & Integrative Era
Covers: Motivational interviewing in health care; Directing, guiding and following styles; Asking, listening and informing; Exchanging information in consultations
APA 7th reference: Rollnick, S., Miller, W. R., & Butler, C. C. (2008). Motivational interviewing in health care: Helping patients change behavior. Guilford Press.
What it is & historical context
Published in 2008, this guide discusses how motivational interviewing can be adapted to health care conversations. It was written for health care practitioners by Stephen Rollnick, William R. Miller and Christopher C. Butler.
Core clinical themes & arguments
The authors discuss directing, following and guiding as styles of communication. The revised second edition describes asking, listening and sharing information in health care conversations. The complete 2008 first edition has not been reviewed for this entry.
Clinical practice, reception & legacy
The publisher describes the revised guide as addressing how practitioners can exchange information while considering the patient’s own perspective. A description of a proposed method does not establish improved adherence in every encounter.
Reader level & educational scope
Evidence differs by behaviour, population and comparison. A 2023 Cochrane review found that motivational interviewing may reduce substance use compared with no intervention in the short term, but may make little or no difference compared with usual or other active treatment. Certainty varied. This entry describes a book and research for educational purposes; it is not clinical advice.
Paired academic and clinical scholarship
Paired work: Motivational Interviewing: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (Sune Rubak, Annelli Sandbæk, Torsten Lauritzen, and Bo Christensen, 2005)
Reference: Rubak, S., Sandbæk, A., Lauritzen, T., & Christensen, B. (2005). Motivational interviewing: A systematic review and meta-analysis. British Journal of General Practice, 55(513), 305–312.
A 2005 systematic review identified 72 randomised trials of motivational interviewing across different health and behavioural outcomes. Results varied by outcome and setting; the review does not prove that the method works for every patient or consultation.
Source-mapped claims and evidence notes
Claim 1: The authors describe guiding as a communication style and discuss principles of motivational interviewing in health care. (The publisher’s current description concerns the revised second edition; the complete first edition was not reviewed.) [Source 1: Guilford Press. Motivational interviewing in health care: Prior editions and second-edition description.]
Claim 2: The revised second edition includes guidance on advice-giving and brief health care consultations. (The publisher describes additions in the 2022 edition; the first edition’s full text was not reviewed.) [Source 1: Guilford Press. Motivational interviewing in health care: Prior editions and second-edition description.]
Sources and inspection notes
Supports: Lists the 2008 first-edition paperback ISBN and a revised 2022 second edition by the same authors. Its current description concerns the later edition; the complete first edition was not reviewed.
Supports: Abstract of a 2005 review of 72 randomised trials across varied outcomes; findings are not a guarantee for individual patients.
Supports: Comparator-specific findings and limitations for substance use, with evidence current to November 2022.
Supports: Records the 2008 first edition, its authors, paperback ISBN 9781593856120 and contents.