🔗 Identifying content-based and relational techniques to change behavior in Motivational Interviewing

Experts identified 38 distinct MI techniques with high agreement on clarity, uniqueness, preciseness, and distinctiveness ratings. Of the identified techniques, 16 were classified as relational techniques. The remaining 22 techniques were classified as content-based. Sixteen of the MI techniques were identified as having substantial overlap with techniques from the BCTTv1. The isolation and classification of MI techniques will provide researchers with the necessary tools to clearly specify MI interventions and test the main and interactive effects of the techniques on health behavior. The distinction between relational and content-based techniques within MI is also an important advance, recognising that changes in motivation and behavior in MI is a function of both intervention content and the interpersonal style in which the content is delivered.