Therapist empathy and client anxiety reduction in motivational interviewing: “She carries with me, the experience”

Abstract

In this article, we examine the use of motivational interviewing (MI) to treat generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) by means of case illustration that focuses on four categories drawn from the client's experience of the key ingredients in MI therapy. The case illustration, drawn from the York study on combining MI and cognitive behavior therapy in the treatment of GAD (uses the client's pre- and post-therapy narrative interviews) to arrive at categories representative of the client's experience of MI therapy. The results of the qualitative analysis highlight the key contributions to positive client outcomes and readiness for change in brief MI therapy for GAD.