Motivational Interviewing with Adolescents and Young Adults (Applications of Motivational Interviewing)

"Filling a critical void, this book answers the call of practitioners and scholars who for years have been asking for a clinical text on how to use MI with youth. Naar-King and Suarez describe the developmental context and provide many easy-to-read examples of using each MI principle and strategy with adolescents and young adults. The authors have also drawn together some of the most prominent figures in MI to describe applications for specific populations and settings. This book would make an excellent stand-alone text for a course on MI or a great supplemental text for any course on clinical interventions with youth."--Keith Herman, PhD, Department of Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology, University of Missouri

"Naar-King and Suarez remind us that the more you try to persuade and direct, the more a young person tends to resist. Want more productive conversations about behavior change with the young adults you work with? Want to stop the pathologizing of adolescents and help them maximize their potential? Look to this book for all-important 'how-tos' and helpful strategies."--Michael D. Clark, MSW, Director, Center for Strength-Based Strategies, Mason, Michigan; member, Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT)

"MI has such a strong theoretical and empirical base that it should become a standard part of training in the mental health and health fields. This book provides an excellent introduction to MI and a compelling overview of applications with adolescents, which is a developing field worthy of continued study. It presents ethical and skill-development guidelines that should be required reading for anyone interested in using MI with adolescents and young adults."--Bradley H. Smith, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina

"A beautifully written, well-organized, and immensely substantive book on collaborating with young people who are struggling with serious challenges. I highly recommend this book to anyone who works with teenagers and young adults. Readers will benefit from its unique blend of spirit and skill, lively illustrations, and universal lessons. I guarantee that this book will not disappoint!"--Andrew Malekoff, LCSW, CASAC, Executive Director, North Shore Child and Family Guidance Center, Roslyn Heights, New York
 
"The authors combine a user-friendly style with rigorous research evidence. The book is well organized and offers enough detail to enable practitioners to grasp the subtleties that can make the difference between being effective or not. The useful examples, tips, and chapter summaries make it a handy reference not only for counselors-in-training, but also for experienced counselors, educators, and others working with this client group. Also offered are very useful, practical models of how MI can be adapted to particular behavioral issues, such as eating disorders and smoking cessation. An indispensable guide for anyone working with issues of behavior change in young people."--Ariana Faris, MSc, private practice, Cardiff, United Kingdom; member, Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT)
 

"Whether you are working with young people with health problems such as diabetes, eating disorders, asthma, or other disorders which require self-management and lifestyle changes; with young people engaged in hazardous or harmful use of alcohol, tobacco, or illicit substances; or with young people involved in the criminal justice system, in this book you will find practical strategies to assist young people to build and maintain motivation….This book is well written, clear, and practical, and would be a valuable addition to the professional library of any clinician working with adolescents and young adults.”

"MI seems to provide a missing link for clients who find themselves ambivalent not only in relation to the therapeutic input offered, but also about the adult world that offers it, and their own changing role within that world. Divided into three logical sections, this book sets out to provide a comprehensive introduction to the use of MI with adolescents and young adults, exploring how the core principles of MI can be applied to this age group and some of the common difficulties with which they present. Writing in a clear and pragmatic style, Sylvie Naar and Mariann Suarez achieve just that, and the resulting book proved to be easy to read, as well as being a useful and informative clinical guide….Clinicians from a variety of professional backgrounds who are new to the theory of MI and are seeking different ways to engages adolescents and young people in therapeutic settings will find this to be an accessible guide. The clarity of structure and helpful chapter summaries make the book easy to pick up, even in the midst of a busy clinic.”

"This book, with contributions by 31 authors in addition to the editors, builds upon the foundational presentation of motivational interviewing (MI) by Miller and Rollnick to encourage and instruct those who work with adolescents and young adults in the core skills of MI in order to produce ‘less frustrating and  more satisfying interactions with young people.’”

"Motivational interviewing was originally developed as a technique to elicit change in the adult substance abusing population. However, recent practice has demonstrated efficacy with younger populations with a variety of risky behaviors and mental health concerns. This guide is extremely user friendly in that each chapter has a summary of motivational interviewing dos and don’ts….The authors provide strategies to incorporate motivational interviewing techniques into other therapeutic approaches including cognitive-behavioral therapy and extrinsic motivation approaches. The authors present this therapeutic approach in an easy-to-read format with tables, acronyms, and catchy phrases….This manual is an important addition to any therapeutic library."

"This is both an interesting and important book, bringing together experts in the field of MI as it pertains to youth and young adults, highlighting MI’s advantages with broad-based populations. Covering not only specific pathologies, the book provides helpful insights and information on the use of MI with minority populations, with many different psychiatric disorders….MI procedures can be of value to any practitioner regardless of their training. This book could be a helpful addition to any graduate level psychotherapy course and would also find an appropriate home in any child, adolescent, or adult psychiatry residency program.”

Mariann Suarez, PhD, ABPP, is Head of Child Psychology and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences at the University of South Florida's Morsani College of Medicine. She is a pediatric psychologist whose research focuses on the use of motivational interviewing in the areas of substance misuse, child abuse and parenting, and the training of medical students and community practitioners. Dr. Suarez is a Diplomate in Cognitive and Behavioral Psychology of the American Board of Professional Psychology, a Fellow of the American Academy of Cognitive and Behavioral Psychology, and a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers.