Introduction: Motivational interviewing (MI) is a patient-centered counseling style developed for eliciting behavior change by helping patients to modify their approach to life. For a successful MI some basic skills should be established: the ability to ask open ended questions, the ability to provide affirmations, the capacity for reflective listening, and the ability to periodically provide summary statements to the patients. Aims and Methods: We report a pilot experience on MI applied to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients at their first outpatient visit. Between Jun.-Nov. 2012 we used MI, with the aid of explanatory pictures, during the first visit in all consecutive IBD patients referred to our outpatient clinic. At the end of visit patients filled out a questionnaire, anonymously and in a separate room, comparing the visit with their prior experience. Results: 35 patients (20 males [57.1%]) with a mean age of 33.2±15.4 years were evaluated. The median disease duration was 8 months (range 1-120). Twenty patients were affected by Crohn's disease (57.1%), 10 by ulcerative colitis (28.6%), and 5 by indeterminate colitis (14.3%). Twenty-five patients had earned a diploma (71.4%) and 65.7% (23/35) were employed full-time. At final analysis only 60% of the patients (21/35) were previously evaluated by a gastroenterologist with a satisfaction rate of 42.8% (9/21); this rate was 21.4% (3/14) in patients evaluated only by general practitioner. Eighteen/35 patients (51.4%) reported an unsatisfactory interview based on the physicians lack of empathy. Younger patients (, 40 years) had a significant dissatisfaction compared to older patients (p=0.22) while no differences were found considering level of education or employment status. After MI all patients (100%) reported a good satisfaction rate (94.1% marked excellent) due to the fact that they felt they had complete answers to their questions. All patients expressed excellent physicians' empathy and liking the use of explanatory pictures. The mean duration of visit was 44.1±10.8 minutes Conclusions: Our pilot experience showed that MI is very well appreciated by IBD patients. It is a timeconsuming technique but considerably useful especially at the first visit of younger patients. Explanatory pictures help patients to better understand their clinical condition. MI can help physicians, especially gastroenterologists, tomove from cure to care with their IBD patients