Caitlin Trotter and Dr. Neil Lundberg, Department of Recreation Management

Introduction

Motivational interviewing is a communication method that assists an individual’s internal motivation to make a change (Miller & Rollnick, 2002). Motivational interviewing has been incorporated in many health care fields and professions (Anstiss, 2009), but has not been fully embraced in the field of Recreational Therapy. The purpose of this project was to explore possible applications and benefits of motivational interviewing in the practice of recreational therapy.

Materials/Research Methods

Three exploratory research methods, i.e. in-person surveys, content analysis, and personal observation, were used to gather information for this project.

Method One – In-person Surveys
I was able to personally survey many of the therapeutic recreations specialists who attended motivational interviewing classes I helped teach at the Utah State Hospital from April 2012 to January 2013. The survey questions were designed to determine the strengths and weaknesses of applying motivational interviewing to recreational therapy at the hospital.

Method Two – Content Analysis
I personally researched the most current and reliable articles addressing motivational interviewing as it pertains to recreational therapy. This method allowed me to identify a relationship between motivational interviewing techniques and principles, and some commonly accepted recreational therapy methods, i.e. self-determination theory, self-efficacy theory, client-centered therapy, and the APIE process.

Method Three- Personal Observation
Over a three-month period, I was able to observe recreational therapists at an adult unit of the Utah State Hospital as they incorporated principles of motivational interviewing into recreational therapy practice.

Results

After analyzing theories and the treatment process, and reviewing the information provided by the recreational therapists at the Utah State Hospital, it was determined that motivational interviewing is applicable to recreational therapy in situations where a recreational therapist is working with one individual. It was also found that motivational
interviewing was more difficult to apply when a recreational therapist is working with a group of individuals

Discussion

While adjustments to the project had to be made to accommodate the Utah State Hospital, the findings of the project are still beneficial to recreational therapy. Although motivation interviewing was found to be beneficial to recreational therapists when working with a patient one-on-one, further research into the use of motivational interviewing in groups is needed to further solidify the usefulness of motivational interviewing in recreational therapy.

Presentation of the Project

During the course of this project my faculty mentor and I were invited to present our motivational interviewing research findings and applications at the Utah Recreation Therapy Association conference, where it was well received by those in attendance.

References

• Anstiss, T. (2009). Motivational interviewing in primary care. Journal of clinical psychology in medical settings, 16(1), 87-93.
• Miller, W. R., & Rollnick, S. (2002). Motivational interviewing: Preparing people for change (2nd ed.). New York: The Guilford Press.