|
Dear Professional MI Trainers,
I'm working on a project to support volunteer MI Champions (see below) to advance MI among all change practitioners. The piece of this project with which I'm struggling is how to integrate Professional MI Trainers (like yourself) into the mix of resources and services. The concept is briefly described below. The objective is to greatly enhance YOUR Consulting Practice as an MI Trainer to ultimately improve the MI proficiency of all change practitioners, which would in turn improve the outcomes for all their clients who are struggling to achieve positive change and deserve competent guindance in their efforts - skills of which only you are in position to help fully develop.
Let me explain...
I'm studying David Rosengren's MI workbook for practitioners, Building Motivational Interviewing Skills, which includes a description for becoming a volunteer "MI Champion." As I understand it, a MI Champion promotes the learning and use of MI among their colleagues by forming a local study group and hosting live, peer-facilitated practice sessions on a regular, on-going basis and using standardized activities and currently available training DVD's on MI. I envision a type of "self-help" system for change practitioners to help themselves change (improve) the way they help their clients change.
I'm very enthused about this concept's potential for expanding awareness among ALL change practitioners regarding the need for and benefits of MI. But the self-help model obviously has it's limitations. Rosengren's workbook is excellent as a foundational guide, and the hosted practice sessions for learning how to apply MI skills proficiently makes for a great start. But after having realized the value and subtle complexities of MI, I believe MOST of the practitioners would further realize the benefits of truly MASTERING the skills of MI, which would be possible only through professional coaching services from MI experts - MINT-affiliated MI trainers.
I've already developed a rough-draft website that could support MI Champions - who are NOT MI Trainers, nor want to be - but who would have a vested interest in promoting self-help MI groups, as well as YOUR expert-coaching services that would go with it for their more serious participants.
My intent is simply to raise practitioners' awareness in regards to the value of MI and facilitate their efforts in promoting MI locally - a "grass-roots" effort across backgrounds and settings. My objectives include: 1) Introducing MI to all helping practitioners by providing a free on-line introductory course, 2) Providing free and convenient opportunities for all practitioners to practice their MI skills, and 3) Integrating this on-line resource and locally hosted support system (where practitioners would get familiar with MI) with professional MI trainers who would then (more effectively and efficiently) coach them in mastering their MI skills.
If you have some thoughts on how this integration piece would be most helpful in steering interested change practitioners toward professional MI trainers, please contact me directly, DrOpsahl@gmail.com, so that I can send you the link to the project's website (pre-launch). It has many built-in marketing tools that you would be able to use to promote your professional MI training/consulting services.
I would greatly appreciate your feedback regarding this project. I'll continue developing the website for MI Champions, and I'll post up-dates here, but ideally, I'd much rather integrate any of your professional needs/preferences now rather than later. Thanks.
Jon |
