Motivational Interviewing (MI) offers a new perspective on
what the role of the mental health professional is in the mysterious, perplexing, and often
frustrating process of instilling motivation in video game addicts. Failure to “inspire” gaming addicts to reach their
goals, despite our best coaching and cheerleading efforts, has been a
significant contributor to the conclusion that gaming addicts cannot be helped.
Psychologists William Miller
and Stephen Rollnick (1991) have conceptualized lack of motivation as the
experience of being “stuck” in ambivalence. They developed a counseling style
that elicits behavior change by helping clients to explore and resolve this
ambivalence. This style is similar to
the client-centered, humanistic approach developed by Carl Rogers and others;
however, it is notably more directive, and can demonstrate results in a relatively
short period of time.
The concept of MI originally evolved from William Miller’s
experiences with the treatment of problem drinkers. Since then, however, MI has been applied to
much broader settings. It operates from the premise that ambivalence is a
normal state that affects many areas
of one’s life. MI
uses a set of skills and principles that guide the client and counselor through
the process of resolving ambivalence (Miller and Rollnick, 1991).
Christopher Mulligan LCSW
