SynthesisAddiction (Abingdon, England)2016
After 30 years of dissemination, have we achieved sustained practice change in motivational interviewing?
Synthesis in Addiction (Abingdon, England), 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 54 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
54 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Contingency management for treatment attendance: A meta-analysis.Journal of substance abuse treatment · 2022Pooled it
- How can primary care practitioners address substance use by adolescents? A position paper of the EUROPEAN academy of PAEDIATRICS.European journal of pediatrics · 2020Guideline
- Motivational interviewing training of substance use treatment professionals: A systematic review.Substance abuse · 2019Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Pooled it
- A mobile app to promote alcohol and drug SBIRT skill translation among multi-disciplinary health care trainees: Results of a randomized controlled trial.Substance abuse · 2022Trial
- Fidelity of a Motivational Interviewing Intervention for Improving Return to Work for People with Musculoskeletal Disorders.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Trial
- Virtual Standardized Patients vs Academic Training for Learning Motivational Interviewing Skills in the US Department of Veterans Affairs and the US Military: A Randomized Trial.JAMA network open · 2020Trial
- Assessing Adherence, Competence and Differentiation in a Stepped-Wedge Randomised Clinical Trial of a Complex Behaviour Change Intervention.Nutrients · 2020Trial
- Abstinence outcomes among women in reproductive health centers administered clinician or electronic brief interventions.Journal of substance abuse treatment · 2020Trial
- A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial to Assess the Impact of Motivational Interviewing on Initiating Behavioral Therapy for Migraine.Headache · 2020Trial
- Implementation of motivational interviewing in a fall prevention exercise program: experiences from a randomized controlled trial.BMC research notes · 2019Trial
- Intervention Mediators in a Randomized Controlled Trial to Increase Colonoscopy Uptake Among Individuals at Increased Risk of Familial Colorectal Cancer.Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine · 2017Trial
- Effectiveness of a computerized motivational intervention on treatment initiation and substance use: Results from a randomized trial.Journal of substance abuse treatment · 2017Trial
- A randomized controlled trial to influence client language in substance use disorder treatment.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2017Trial
- The dissemination of motivational interviewing in Swedish county councils: Results of a randomized controlled trial.PloS one · 2017Trial
- A randomized clinical trial of Motivational Interviewing to reduce alcohol and drug use among patients with depression.Journal of consulting and clinical psychology · 2016Trial
- Benchmarking Motivational Interviewing Competence of Large Language Models.European addiction research · 2026Article
- From Persuasion to Partnership: Evaluating the Practicalities, Ethics, and Evidence for Implementing Motivational Interviewing in Veterinary Practice.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Review
- Learning Motivational Interviewing in VR: A Feasibility Study Using Self-Reported Measures.Journal of medical extended reality · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimsMotivational interviewing (MI) is the most successfully disseminated evidence-based practice in the substance use disorder (SUD) treatment field. This systematic review considers two questions relevant to policymakers and service providers: (1) does training in MI achieve sustained practice change in clinicians delivering SUD treatment; and (2) do clinicians achieve a level of competence after training in MI that impacts upon client outcomes?
methodsA systematic review was conducted and reported in line with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement, examining training outcomes for MI in the SUD treatment sector, and for clinicians working in a SUD treatment role. We determined a training method to have resulted in sustained practice change when over 75% of participants met beginning proficiency in MI spirit at a follow-up time-point.
resultsOf the 20 studies identified, 15 measured training at a follow-up time-point using standard fidelity measures. The proportion of clinicians who reached beginning proficiency was either reported or calculated for 11 of these studies. Only two studies met our criterion of 75% of clinicians achieving beginning proficiency in MI spirit after training. Of the 20 studies identified, two measured client substance use outcomes with mixed results.
conclusionsA broad range of training studies failed to achieve sustained practice change in MI according to our criteria. It is unlikely that 75% of clinicians can achieve beginning proficiency in MI spirit after training unless competency is benchmarked and monitored and training is ongoing. The impact of training on client outcomes requires future examination.
Indexed as
Identifiers
26216706What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.