Motivational interviewing with adolescents: an advanced practice nursing intervention for psychiatric settings

The article focuses on the use of motivational interviewing (MI) as an intervention with adolescent patients in mental health treatment settings.

The aim of the study is to review MI theory and principles, and inform advanced practice nurses about the suitability of this intervention for adolescents in psychiatric care settings. For this population, MI may be effective in encouraging behavioral change consistent with a harm reduction approach.

Published literature on the topic, including randomized controlled trials, was used in this study.

Nurse practitioners in psychiatry are especially well suited to engage their adolescent patients in MI based on their role as patient advocates and the developmental framework within which they practice. Further studies are needed to evaluate the efficacy of this approach with the adolescent psychiatric population.