Motivational Interviewing

Why study this subject?

Motivational Interviewing is a way of working in collaboration with individuals and families to help them achieve the changes that they wish to see in their lives. It starts from strengths, focusing first on what is strong, not what is wrong. It is underpinned by the idea of working with compassion and acceptance and in partnership, empowering people to be the agents of their own change.

Working in this way is a key part of the success of the Family Safeguarding Model. Research shows that people are best able to change when the person supporting them is showing them accurate empathy.  When we can accept a person for who they are and show them this acceptance, we are more likely to see positive behaviour change. 

Why study at Buckinghamshire New University?

This short course is unique to BNU and has been developed with local partners to give you the skills you need. With expert lecturers and up to date teaching methods, BNU can prepare you for your future career, further study and your master’s degree. You can also use the credits from this course towards your MSc Child Protection & Adult Safeguarding masters.

With many years of experience in healthcare, interventions, professional practice and other courses related to this subject we are confident our professional insight can help you gain an extra nuance and passion to your role. This unique professional led approach allows BNU to offer you vocationally focused courses, which teach you real world skills and take your knowledge to the next level. 

The course is hybrid in delivery, offering you residential days to meet the lecturers and other learners, complimented by the virtual classes that enable more flexible engagement without the travel.

Whether you work in child or adult services you will learn how to apply our teaching across both disciplines. This supports the contemporary nature of a life course approach. Alongside this, the course will facilitate you to engage in additional reflection and analysis in order to focus on the key areas of their own practice. 

What facilities can I use?

This course has been developed through collaboration with the main providers of MI training for local authorities using the FSM – Alasdair Cant & Associates. As a result, any practitioners working in a local authority using the FSM will be eligible for a discounted rate. 

You will need to talk to your course leader if you are interested in this. 

You will have access to the university facilities as a student of BNU, which entitles you to some benefits, such as access to our 24/7 library, union and AppsAnywhere service which provides you online access to the software you need to complete the course. As a student of BNU you will have access to our student union, with free trips, societies and events for you to get involved in. We also have support services such as counselling, cost of living support, free laptop loans and CV writing. Our new restaurant serves food with a discounted rate and is only open to students and staff.

What will I study?

This module seeks to develop your knowledge of motivational interviewing and the associated skills required to implement this model in practice with children and their families, to improve their outcomes.

You will gain a comprehensive understanding of the key approaches used with motivational interviewing, including the OARS technique (Open questions, Affirmations, Reflections, Summaries), which will form the basis of your course.

Weekly lectures will introduce you to the principles of motivational interviewing in the practice setting. This will be led jointly by an academic and specialist input from an external partner, who is responsible for the development of the module materials.

You will be supported outside of the classroom by your practice manager or supervisor, through supervised or observed practice and that will be recorded as part of your work portfolio.

How will I be taught and assessed?

To support the working professional, this course is flexible in design and facilitates both in person (residential) and online delivery including lectures, seminars, workshops, and tutorials. 

Summative assessment is via two pieces of coursework - the collation of a portfolio and an essay.