SY28-4 * CLINICAL APPLICATION OF MOTIVATIONAL INTERVIEWING AT OKAYAMA PSYCHIATRIC MEDICAL CENTER

Abstract

Although research has proven motivational interviewing (MI) to be effective in addiction treatment, MI is not yet wildly used in Japan. When I started the treatment of addiction in 2006, MI was not used in our psychiatric medical center. I thought MI would solve the problems I had had in clinical interviewing with people with addiction. I studied the methods of MI during seminars and workshops including one by William R. Miller. In our psychiatric medical center, over the past 4 years, my colleagues and I have regularly held meetings where we role play therapist/client aspects of MI once a month, as well as workshops by Japanese MINT (the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers) members once a year. MI can be used in outpatient and inpatient clinical settings, as well as group therapy. I think that MI is essential in treatment, not only for substance use disorders, but also process addiction–in which we currently do not have many programs dealing with this type of disorder. In addition, MI is very compatible with the trans-theoretical model and harm reduction approach. In this presentation, I will introduce a case of an alcohol dependent patient who, at this time, had not achieved abstinence from alcohol, but through positive engagement has been moving forward in treatment.