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.