Motivational interviewing and the older population in psychiatry

Motivational interviewing is a psychological intervention that could potentially give clinical staff working with older people a way of tackling ambivalence and/or resistance to change in therapy. AIthough it has been shown to be effective in various spheres of mental health, we are unaware of any publications on its use in the older population. In this paper we discuss the main principles of this intervention and some adaptations necessary to meet the needs of older people (i.e. those over 65 years old). Patients require the capacity to understand and retain new information in order to make use of this intervention, which hence limits its use to those who retain good cognitive functioning. We would like to encourage the practice of motivational interviewing both as an intervention in its own right but also in preparation for patients requiring more specific therapies such as cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) or interpersonal psychotherapy.