2.50 CE Credits Available
Motivational Interviewing in Juvenile Justice Settings
by Ali Hall
Without a strong alliance and clear boundaries, mandated clients will often shut down or act out—especially if they are teenagers. How do you work to meet both institutional and clinical goals?  MI expert Ali Hall demonstrates how to use this collaborative approach in juvenile justice settings.
Are you looking for an alternative to the directive approaches traditionally used in Juvenile Justice settings? Working with mandated clients is a complicated endeavor to begin with, but when your clients are teens who are seeking—and testing the limits of— their autonomy, treatment can easily backfire without a collaborative working alliance.

In this course Ali Hall, JD, and her colleagues demonstrate how to reach effective outcomes with juvenile justice clients using Motivational Interviewing (MI). Through demonstrations with 4 clients, you will see how MI enables the counselors to partner with teens in ways that validate and empower them, even within the confines of the correctional system. What’s more, you’ll learn how to sidestep the urge to advise, direct, or confront struggling youth.

See how MI provides Hall with the tools to build a strong alliance with Samantha, on probation for marijuana possession, and how it enables her to take responsibility for her own behavior. Daniel Domaguin will show you how to deescalate angry clients using MI techniques in juvenile hall, while Deborah Collins demonstrates both MI-compliant and non-compliant approaches working with Tony, a teen mandated to counseling for substance use.

Finally, a roundtable discussion with the 3 counselors demonstrates how to provide ongoing coaching support for your staff.

This highly praised course fills a much-needed gap for training staff and counselors in this challenging environment.



What therapists are saying…

“A rich training resource for those working to integrate MI in Juvenile Justice. The discussion about MI and how beneficial it can be is well delivered and very straightforward. As a trainer, I am always looking for examples in settings such as juvenile justice to help trainees experience the full range of MI conversations. Having multiple clinicians as well as contrasting (good and not so good) demonstrations makes this video particularly useful. The inclusion of utilizing communities of practice to enhance skill development is a great addition!”

—Denise Ernst, PhD, MI trainer, Member Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers., Portland State University
“Bringing awareness to change is enlightening as well as offers support to our youth. Relationships are vital when working with this population and inspiring hope can plant the seed that begins change. This video was informative and easy to follow.”

—Sonia Gooden-Alexis, MEd LMHC

 “An excellent complement to classroom training because it provides demonstrations as well as explanations of how to use MI skills in longer contact sessions with young people in the juvenile justice system, as well as brief interactions when time is very limited. Includes numerous examples of rolling with resistance, reflective listening, eliciting change talk, along with affirmations (OARS), elicit/provide/elicit, and planning for positive change.”

—Liz Craig, MPA, EBP Trainer/Consultant, Member MI Network of Trainers
“A superb job of describing and demonstrating the use of MI with clients involved in the juvenile justice system. This will be very useful for those working with juvenile clients who are looking to utilize or increase their use of this effective communication method.”

—Melinda Hohman, PhD, author, Motivational Interviewing in Social Work Practice, Director, SDSU School of Social Work.
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Many traditional counseling methods have emphasized a more directive, agenda-based style, and perhaps understandably, counseling in juvenile justice settings has followed suit—favoring behavioral change via compliance versus self-determination. Unfortunately, conventional strategies have shown themselves to lead to misattunement, client resistance, and poor outcomes. In this new video, Motivational Interviewing expert Ali Hall demonstrates a refreshing approach to counseling for this challenging population. Here, she and two colleagues provide accessible ways for clinicians to establish rapport, handle resistance, and turn mere compliance into motivated action.

To start, Hall outlines the key principles of MI, known as the “MI Spirit,” and then details each component alongside annotated case vignettes. Covering “OARS-plus” skills, the four MI processes, change and sustain talk, “the righting reflex,” and “elicit-provide-elicit,” Hall describes the method’s collaborative, client-engaging nature. Then, four sessions follow in which she and fellow MI clinicians Daniel Domaguin and Deborah Collins work with mandated teen clients. Each clinician conveys partnership and empathy, and you’ll learn how to ask open-ended questions, use affirmations and reflections, diffuse escalated emotions, make important summaries, and identify sustain/change talk. In addition, you’ll see how to hold an MI-based peer consultation group, with structured activities and MI-consistent feedback.

This video is invaluable for clinicians who want a primer on MI, effective strategies for adolescent therapy, or interventions for incarcerated populations. Add this title to your library today.

By watching this video, you will:
 • Get an overview of Motivational Interviewing (MI) and its application to adolescents in juvenile justice settings.
 • Learn MI skills that support the therapeutic alliance and manage client resistance.
 • Understand how to structure an MI-based peer consultation group.

Length of video: 2:36:51

English subtitles available

Group ISBN-10 #: 1-60124-534-3

Group ISBN-13 #: 978-1-60124-534-2

Ali Hall, JD, is author of Motivational Interviewing for Mental Health Clinicians: A Toolkit for Skills Enhancement and a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT) and an independent consultant and trainer. Ali has designed and facilitated over 900 Motivational Interviewing workshops for health care practitioners, behavioral health clinicians, psychologists, psychiatrists, and criminal/juvenile justice professionals, and provides training for trainers in evidence-based practices. Ali offers MI coding and skill development coaching, and provides consultation to systems for effective MI implementation.

CE credits: 2.5

Learning Objectives:

  • Discuss Motivational Interviewing's (MI) role in adolescents juvenile justice
  • List MI skills that address client resistance
  • Plan effective interventions using an MI-based peer consultation group

Bibliography available upon request

This course is offered for ASWB ACE credit for social workers. See complete list of CE approvals here

© 2017

Course Reviewed January 2024

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