TPC-Journal-V3-Issue3

161 The Professional Counselor Volume 3, Issue 3, Pages 161–174 http://tpcjournal.nbcc.org © 2013 NBCC, Inc. and Affiliates doi:10.15241/mhi.3.3.161 Integrating Motivational Interviewing into a Basic Counseling Skills Course to Enhance Counseling Self-Efficacy Melanie H. Iarussi Jessica M. Tyler Sarah Littlebear Michelle S. Hinkle Motivational interviewing (MI), a humanistic counseling style used to help activate clients’ motivation to change, was integrated into a basic counseling skills course. Nineteen graduate-level counseling students completed the Counselor Estimate of Self-Efficacy at the start and conclusion of the course. Significant differences were found between students’ pre/post measures of self-efficacy ( t (18) = –7.055, p = .0005). Qualitative data collected concerning students’ experiences learning counseling skills in the context of MI are described by four main themes: (a) valuable and relevant learning experience, (b) more self-assuredness in working with challenging clients, (c) uncertainty in applying technique, and (d) feelings of restriction with MI application. Implications for integrating MI in skills courses and future directions in research are discussed. Keywords : counseling skills, counseling students, motivational interviewing, self-efficacy, student experiences Self-efficacy is an important mediator of performance and involves the degree to which people are capable, diligent and committed in their work (Chen, Casper, & Cortina, 2001). Specific to counselor education, there is a supported relationship between counseling self-efficacy and counselor training (Larson et al., 1992; Nilsson & Duan, 2007). Counseling self-efficacy has been shown to play a fundamental role in counselor development and training (Barnes, 2004; Lent et al., 2006), and higher counseling self-efficacy can be related to greater performance due to motivation factors (Bandura, 1986; Greason & Cashwell, 2009). In this study, the authors explored counselor trainees’ counseling self-efficacy before and after the completion of a counseling skills course that integrated MI. This technique was incorporated into the course to increase students’ humanistic people-responsiveness skills and to expose students to a defined evidence-based practice to help increase their counseling self-efficacy. Students’ experiences in this course were also a focus in the current study. Counseling Self-Efficacy Counseling self-efficacy can be defined as a counselor’s belief about his or her ability to effectively counsel a client in the near future (Larson, 1998; Larson & Daniels, 1998; Lent et al., 2006). Based on Bandura’s (1997) theory, this confidence is an important factor in the likelihood of counselor trainees applying specific counseling skills. Counseling skills can be defined as the ability of a counselor to demonstrate attending behavior that displays empathy, support, and a unified effort with the client toward a common goal of resolution and movement forward (Ivey, Packard, & Ivey, 2006; Schaefle et al., 2005; Schaefle, Smaby, Packman, & Maddux, 2007). More specifically, counseling attending behavior can be demonstrated through Melanie H. Iarussi is an Assistant Professor at Auburn University. Jessica M. Tyler, NCC, is Clinical Coordinator at East Alabama Mental Health and Adjunct Professor at Auburn University. Sarah Littlebear, NCC, is a doctoral candidate at Auburn University. Michelle S. Hinkle is an Assistant Professor at William Paterson University. Correspondence can be addressed to Melanie H. Iarussi, Auburn University, 2084 Haley Center, Auburn, AL 36830, miarussi@auburn.edu .