Motivational Interviewing (or MI) is a trauma-informed, culturally reverent communication method. For those who work in human services, Motivational Interviewing techniques can help you build a rapport with the served person or persons and help empower them toward positive choices for lasting change. It helps them tap into their personal values to find their intrinsic motivation.
Ideally, like most communication skills, it’s best to start out practicing in individual settings so you can develop the skill. Of course, some human service providers don’t have a situation where one-on-one is feasible, so how do you create that safe, trusting environment within groups?
Group Dynamics
Anyone who’s worked with a group of people, whether it was a college project, group interventions, or in a social setting, has likely encountered some of the unique challenges. Groups are dynamic. People are often managing different responses and feelings toward several members of the group at once.
Thus, group dynamics require extra care and skill when using MI techniques. That said, a group setting can amplify the power of MI by harnessing collective insights and mutual support.
There are many resources that can help you along your journey. One book that we’ve found particularly helpful is Motivational Interviewing in Groups by Christopher C. Wagner, Karen S. Ingersoll, et al. This book is great for those who are newer to the practice of MI but meaty enough to offer new insights to seasoned MI practitioners as well.
Why employ Motivational Interviewing approaches in a group? Well, many times, it’s out of necessity, especially when human support resources are stretched thin and understaffed. However, it can also be a way to go deeper, in many cases, to really foster positive behavioral changes.
One advantage of applying MI in groups is that you will build your own skills as an MI practitioner and group leader. Moreover, the entire group gains the value of collective insight. This can offer group discussions, where folks listen to each other, share experiences, and learn from the change talk of their peers.
Just like we see in virtual settings, some folks also feel more comfortable working with a group. Depending on their history and life experiences, they may find it easier to share in a group of their peers, or they may feel uncomfortable or singled out in a one-on-one setting.
Since creating a safe, comfortable space is a significant component of MI, there are plenty of situations and times when a group approach may be a benefit.
Building Connections in a Group Discussion
One of the most critical aspects of communication is forming a strong connection. In groups, those connections may require a little adjustment in effort and approach. With most group discussions, we begin with conversational agreements. These parameters can be adapted to your situations. They are intended to ensure that everyone has a comfortable space and appropriate boundaries.
Once the agreements have been set, the group discussion can begin. For Motivational Interviewing in a group context, we use the “Forming, Storming, Norming” framework.
Forming:
The first stage of bringing a group together is called “forming.” During forming, a facilitator uses open questions like, “How is your recovery going?” to encourage sharing.
Jumping off from the response to this focusing and engaging open-ended question, the facilitator will listen for common themes, reflect them back to the group, and connect members by highlighting their shared experiences. Encourage change talk with open-ended questions such as, “What benefits have you experienced since you began your journey?”
As you hear change talk, identify the common themes—this helps everyone in the group empower each other with their own and collective change talk. The structure of MI, engage, focus, evoke, and plan fit right into group work.
Storming:
We call the next stage of the process “storming.” This is where each person in the group expresses their perspectives; as you can imagine and/or experienced, there are times when conflict may arise within the group.
As the facilitator, it’s important to help manage disagreement without invalidating anyone’s viewpoint. That means we have to “roll with resistance,” acknowledging and affirming all individuals in the group. If someone says, “That doesn’t work for me,” you 1) validate them being vulnerable by sharing their unique experience such as, “Got it. This doesn’t seem to line up with your vision.” And then 2) invite the person to share more, “What do you feel might work for you?”
Encourage the group to offer diverse perspectives. In a safe space, a perspective isn’t wrong or bad, it’s just a different point of view that may be impacted by the served person’s prior experiences and/or their identity.
Norming:
The third stage of the process is referred to as “norming.” Norming means creating a safe, comfortable space where trust can grow—a sense of community in the group.
To build that connection, facilitators should focus on validation, empathy, and creating moments of shared understanding. A facilitator’s role is to reinforce positive change talk and empower the individuals within the group toward their own positive steps (whatever that may look like for them). Encourage group reflection and focus on creating a space where all group members feel seen and heard.
Managing the Challenges of Groups
Now, if you’ve been in a group discussion, you likely know that there are issues that can arise within groups. Some members will feel less engaged; some may engage in passive hostility.
Motivational Interviewing isn’t a contrived conversation—it’s a natural and organic way of guiding a conversation. That means that we can’t, nor would we want to, “force people” to participate or pressure them to share. As you likely know, forcing can easily have the opposite effect. It can result in the person becoming passive or aggressive. In effect, when we force responses, we are re-activating (triggering) their trauma response—aggressive or passive.
The forming process can start out in pseudo-community or the “cocktail hour” community. “We’re all alike!” But then, someone will say, “That’s not me. I am unique.” This can lead to what we refer to as “chaos,” which you’ve likely experienced. It’s important to know that “chaos” or expressions of difference/uniqueness is a part of the forming process and can be healthy when responded to with skill.
Once the group moves through chaos, they come to a place of true community—one where people feel safe to be who they are and express their unique perspectives. They feel heard, accepted, and connected by you and the group. They may experience moments of synchronous empathy.
Norming is validating and empathizing, and it’s a big part of helping create that safe space. You may need to empathize with less engaged members (and certainly if “chaos” is presenting and pivot the focus). Encourage participation without pressure, and even consider one-on-one check-ins, especially if a group member consistently avoids sharing. Consider why they aren’t sharing and how you can help them feel comfortable. It’s critical to remember that people participate in groups in different ways and for valid reasons. These could be related to identity facets such as neurodivergence or previous negative experiences in group settings where these skills and concepts we’re sharing were not present.
Creating the right community group dynamic is a process. Some members of the group will be grumpy, and some will be ready to talk. It’s important not to dismiss what the grumpy person shares. Empathize with them, then pivot to other members of the group.
The goal is building synergy around change talk. That means resolving ambivalence, and then onto taking positive steps, and maintaining a commitment to change. When the “grumpy” person in the group shares, you’re not dismissing what they’re sharing; you’re using it as a pivot point, rolling with it. The group can often help diffuse the grumpiness by voicing additional perspectives in a healthy and generative manner.
Change talk can become contagious within a group. You can help draw this out by building synergy—encouraging members to share their positive changes and success stories. Create a sense of belonging and tap into the group’s collective wisdom to generate change talk and peer support. The ultimate goal of MI is the resolution of ambivalence, empowering people to find their own reasons for overcoming negative behavior. And sometimes, we learn reasons for behavior change from other members of the group through this process.
All of this can result in group members tuning into their unique and/or shared internal motivations for behavior change, resolving their ambivalence. Once they identify their motivation, they can take the necessary steps to move through the stages of change. Science and our individual experience as direct service providers demonstrates that MI is one of the most effective ways to tap into a person’s motivation, whether it’s part of group therapy or an individual approach.
Motivational Interviewing is a crucial communication method in human services. Although we often think of it as a one-on-one interview, it can work in and even benefit group work.
If you’d like to learn more about employing MI techniques in groups to foster behavior change and leverage diverse perspectives, Share is here to help! Explore our resources or reach out for more ways to boost your positive group dynamics.