Published on: December 11, 2025
A NABITA Tip of the Week by Aaron L. Austin, Ed.D., M.Ed.
Motivational interviewing (MI) is an evidence-based therapeutic style developed in the early 1980s.[1] While the technique may not come naturally, especially for those of us without a background in clinical or counseling work, it doesn’t have to feel instinctive to be effective.
Far from being a mysterious therapy method, MI is a practical and powerful tool that anyone can learn, practice, and apply. If you’re a Principal, Director of Housing, or any professional in an educational setting engaging in case management, MI belongs in your toolbox. In K-12 schools and higher education settings, it can play a transformative role in case management, helping students and communities to achieve real, sustainable change.
What is Motivational Interviewing?
MI is an intentional technique that supports individuals exploring their behaviors and beliefs in a nonjudgmental way. Your goal when using the MI approach is not to fix or give solutions to problems. When we employ MI in educational settings, our job as case management practitioners is to guide students through ambivalence toward decisions that align with their values and goals.
The beauty of MI is that it aligns with trauma-informed practices. We aren’t labeling students, lecturing them, or dictating what they “should” do. Instead, we express empathy, highlight discrepancies between their goals and current behavior, and create a space where change becomes possible.
Importantly, we don’t jump to advice. Even if we know the answer, MI reminds us that our job isn’t to solve, but to support. This is when we are “sitting in the suck” with students. They are experiencing difficulties, and we need to be there with them.
Why This Approach Works
One of the biggest hurdles we hear that practitioners face is: “But I want to help! I have the answer!” We get that. However, MI reminds us that helping doesn’t mean dictating a solution. It means guiding students to their own insights. Often, the more we try to fix their behavior, the less heard and empowered they feel.
Yes, it’s uncomfortable to sit in the suck and embrace the ambiguity. It’s uncomfortable to resist rescuing. It’s more efficient to cut to the chase, but ultimately, less effective. That moment of uncertainty, discomfort, or frustration is often the moment change begins, where the student takes ownership and sees the solution as internal, not external.
When to Use Motivational Interviewing
Behavioral Intervention Teams (BITs) follow a three-step process: 1) gather data, 2) assess risk using an evidence-based risk rubric, and 3) deploy interventions. MI is effectively used in conversations with students during interventions, but the key is understanding when and how to apply it. MI works well with students whose behavior needs to change, but who aren’t sure how to do it or aren’t ready to do it yet. MI helps us identify their stage of change and, over time (through multiple meetings), guide them to recognize the change they need, and then support them as they begin to change their behavior.
Tips for Using Motivational Interviewing
As part of NABITA’s Case Management Support and Interventions certification course, we introduce participants to the five core principles of MI:
1. Express Empathy
Simply put, empathy is the ability to understand how someone feels. We listen, recognize, and accept the student where they are with their problems. We use open-ended questions, avoid judgment, and stay present. When a student says, “I’ve tried everything,” we don’t say, “Well, clearly you haven’t tried EVERYTHING.” Instead, we say, “That sounds really difficult.”
2. Develop Discrepancy
Once we understand the student’s goals and values, we can gently hold up a mirror to them. When students claim they want to graduate but are skipping class every week, we ask, “Can you help me understand how missing your lecture each week helps you get the grades you need to graduate?” It’s not a “gotcha” moment; it’s an invitation for reflection. Discrepancy creates internal motivation to change.
3. Avoid Argumentation
Arguing puts the student in a defensive posture. MI encourages us to “roll with resistance” rather than push against it. If you sense an argument is about to erupt, that’s your cue to shift your strategy. Ask a new question, pause, and pivot.
4. Roll with Resistance
Resistance isn’t the student being defiant; it’s often a sign that we’ve pushed or rushed ahead of their readiness. A student who interrupts or ignores guidance is usually telling us, “You’re solving the wrong problem.” That’s our signal to slow down, listen more closely, and re-center the conversation on their lived experience.
5. Support Self-Efficacy
This is the long game, where small wins matter. We say, “You’ve really made progress. What made that possible for you?” or “You’ve handled a lot already. What strengths helped you get through that?” These questions help build self-confidence, which in turn fuels long-term behavior change.
MI provides us with the language, framework, and mindset to help our case management meetings with students become meaningful, change-oriented conversations. I promise it is not as scary as it may seem. Try implementing the tips into your other discussions and see what works for you. Of course, we would love to help you hone your case management skills, if you need training.
How We Train on This
In NABITA’s Case Management Support and Interventions certification course, we dedicate time to teaching the MI approach through discussion, examples, and, most importantly, role play. That’s where it clicks. Practicing these skills in real-time, with feedback from peers and trainers, helps build confidence and fluency.
Whether it’s learning how to reflect without parroting, asking questions that deepen awareness, or rolling with resistance without losing momentum, practitioners leave this course sharper, more strategic, and more effective in student conversations. Let us help you build the skills to help students move from stuck to self-aware, and from self-aware to thriving.
Want to learn how to integrate motivational interviewing into case management? Enroll in an upcoming Case Management Support and Interventions course or contact NABITA’s team of consultants for custom support. Learn more here.
[1] Miller, W. R., & Rollnick, S. (2002). Motivational interviewing: Preparing people for change (2nd ed.). The Guilford Press https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2002-02948-000.