Teaching Motivational Interviewing Skills to Psychiatry Trainees: Findings of a National Survey

Objective: The authors report on the current status of motivational interviewing education and training director attitudes about providing it to psychiatry residents. Methods: Training directors of general, child/adolescent and addiction psychiatry training programs were invited to participate in an anonymous online survey. Results: Of the 333 training directors who were invited to participate, 66 of 168 (39.3 %) general, 41 of 121 (33.9 %) child/adolescent, and 19 of 44 (43.2 %) addiction psychiatry training directors completed the survey. The authors found that 90.9 % of general, 80.5 % of child/adolescent, and 100 % of addiction psychiatry training programs provided motivational interviewing education. Most programs used multiple educational opportunities; the three most common opportunities were didactics, clinical practice with formal supervision, and self-directed reading. Most training directors believed that motivational interviewing was an important skill for general psychiatrists. The authors also found that 83.3 % of general, 87.8 % of child/adolescent, and 94.7 % of addiction psychiatry training directors reported that motivational interviewing should be taught during general psychiatry residency. Conclusions: Motivational interviewing skills are considered important for general psychiatrists and widely offered by training programs. Competency in motivational interviewing skills should be considered as a graduation requirement in general psychiatry training programs.