Overview
6-8 hours of learning, available as a self-paced online course or as an instructor-led in person or virtual workshop.
Includes one 30-minute practice and feedback session with an expert trainer.
Appropriate for a wide range of professionals and peer helpers. From social workers and health care professionals, to coaches and peers.
Certificate of completion provided.
What You’ll Learn
Whether you are a healthcare professional, a coach, a manager, a support worker, or a peer, the quality of your connection with others determines the impact of your work. But truly being with someone in a way that makes them feel heard, valued, and empowered is a high-level skill that requires intention and ongoing practice.
In this course, you will immerse yourself in the spirit of motivational interviewing. You will learn to create a partnership where people feel brave enough to explore their own lives. While this course is a complete training in high-level engagement and empathy, it also serves as a stepping stone for Motivational Interviewing Foundations Part 2: Guiding the Path to Change, where you will learn to use these skills strategically to support others through the change process.
About the Course
- Flexible delivery: Our format-flexible curriculum ensures consistent learning outcomes for our asynchronous (anytime) and synchronous (real-time) options.
- Practice and feedback: Engage in a 30-minute session with an expert trainer to refine your skills.
- Progress updates: Sponsors receive regular participant progress reports.
- Capacity: This course can accommodate up to 12 learners per group.
Course Details
- Define motivational interviewing (MI).
- Describe the four aspects of the spirit of MI and how to express them: compassion, acceptance, partnership, and empowerment.
- Recognize the difference between three styles of helping interactions: directing, guiding, and following
- Discuss the role of listening and being present, in the context of engaging.,
- Demonstrate the following person-centred communication skills:
- Open-ended questions: Formulate questions that invite dialogue rather than “yes/no” answers.
- Affirmations: Identify and acknowledge client strengths and efforts to build confidence.
- Reflections: Demonstrate “simple” and “complex” reflections to check understanding and ensure the client feels heard and to deepen the conversation.
- Summaries: Periodically pull together the client’s statements to transition or highlight key points.
- Ask-offer-ask: Provide information in an MI-consistent way.
- Describe the the importance of engaging.
- Consider ways to apply skills to practice.
If you want an interactive course that focuses on practical application, this course is for you. CCMI uses learner-centred, performance-based approaches to adult education, turning knowledge into action by helping you master new skills and consider how you will apply them directly to your professional or personal world. The MI foundations training includes:
- Learning content to build an understanding of new concepts and skills.
- Practice activities to increase practical understanding and assess learning, including one practice and feedback session with an experienced MI trainer.
- Reflection activities that explore how to apply new knowledge and skills in your unique setting.
CCMI’s Motivational Interviewing training content has been updated to incorporate the most recent changes to William Miller and Stephen Rollnick’s Motivational Interviewing: Helping People Change and Grow.
An important part of the online course is the motivational interviewing practice and feedback sessions. These sessions give learners an opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills that they are learning. MI foundations practice and feedback sessions are one-on-one conference sessions with an instructor. They are 30 minutes in length and focus on communication skills (OARS and ask-offer-ask), strategies, and application to practice. Learners schedule their own sessions, based on a selection of available times. All of the information to schedule these sessions is contained within the course. We use the Zoom platform for practice and feedback for several reasons. Zoom with video allows us to see each other’s body language, which can be important in interpreting what people are saying. Many professionals interact with the people they serve on the phone or via video, so this also provides an opportunity to be comfortable with virtual interactions. During practice and feedback sessions, learners can decide how they want to spend their time. Here are some common options:
- Clarification of a topic: Learn more about information covered in the online course. Learners will receive a short description or demonstration, have an opportunity to briefly discuss the topic, practice and get feedback on skills as needed.
- Case study: Learners can bring a situation with a patient or client that they would like to discuss. This would be a situation where someone might be “stuck” or would benefit from a new perspective and how to apply what they are learning in the online course. The learner and instructor will discuss the situation and the principles, skills, and strategies that might apply. Then they can role play the situation and get feedback on skills as needed.
- Role play: The CCMI trainer will play a patient or client and the learner will have an opportunity to practice skills and receive feedback.
- The learner’s idea: The learner may have an additional way that they would like to spend their time working with a knowledgeable instructor.
The course takes approximately 8 hours, and a certificate is provided upon completion.
Regardless of whether you complete your training virtually or in person, the practice and feedback sessions will be be conducted via zoom. This means that you will need the following:
- Access to a computer, laptop, or tablet with the capability to watch and listen to videos and audio recordings.
- Internet connection
- Microphone and camera.
- Up to date browser including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, or Microsoft Edge.
Which Path is Right For You?
| Motivational Interviewing Foundations Part 1: The Heart of Person-Centred Connection | Motivational Interviewing Foundations Part 2: Guiding the Path to Change | Motivational Interviewing Foundations – The complete course | |
| Primary Focus | Building engagement & empathy | Evoking & strengthening motivation for change |
Building engagement & empathy Evoking & strengthening motivation for change |
| Key Outcome | Engagement & trust | Commitment & action | Engagement, trust, commitment & action |
| Prerequisites | None | Completion of Phase 1 | None |
| Best For | Anyone who wants to become a more empathetic, effective communicator | Anyone supporting behaviour change | Anyone supporting behaviour change |
Other Motivational Interviewing Training Programs
We offer a variety of programs to help you develop professional motivational interviewing skills.
Motivational Interviewing Foundations Complete Course - Faculty Led
16-17.5 hours of training spread. Options for virtual or in-person.
Includes two 30-minute practice and feedback sessions
Appropriate for a wide range of professionals and peer helpers
MI and Brief Action Planning Train the Trainer
16 week train the trainer pathway, plus 4 days train the trainer workshop
Appropriate for educators
Prerequisites: Successful completion of a 26 week Train the Trainer Preparation Pathway
Intermediate MI Mini-Courses
30 to 90 minutes self-paced online content
Includes one 30-minute practice and feedback session with expert trainer
For a wide range of professionals and peer helpers
Prerequisite: MI Foundations or equivalent
Frequently Asked Questions
Motivational interviewing is appropriate for a wide range of professionals and peer helpers, from social workers and health care professionals, to mental health experts and addiction specialists.
This bibliography of controlled trials includes a wide range of professions and client populations
Motivational interviewing part 2 will be available starting June 1, 2026. Please reach out to denielle.wiebe@centrecmi.ca if you would like to be notified when the course is released.
Another option is to take the complete MI Foundations course, which includes additional practice and feedback and other faculty-moderated exercises. It is available as a self-paced online course or as a faculty-led workshop or webinar.
Learners in CCMI's online courses have access to a full support team to assist with everything from technical support and scheduling, to questions about content and completing assignments.