Motivational Interviewing in Life and Health Coaching: A Guide to Effective Practice (Applications of Motivational Interviewing Series)

Motivational Interviewing for Life and Health Coaching is the missing piece for coaches drawn to living and breathing MI because it is written in that spirit. The book will not make you yawn and wish you had not bought it; there is a vast difference between applying MI in theory and being in the MI spirit, and the book perfectly conveys the intention: Be in MI every day.This book, supported by recommendations for further tasks in each chapter and helpful additional resources, will make a tremendous difference in your understanding and use of Motivational Interviewing.

As a seasoned Health and Wellness coach and a course facilitator in a coaching school, I highly recommend this book. I recommend it to all the future coaches I meet. Cecilia H. Lanier, Patty Bean, and Stacey C. Arnold capture the spirit of MI in an understandable way. When one finishes this book, it can be used as a reference when one is working to improve one's MI skills. It includes the latest research and evidence based information that is sure to keep you current and elevate MI skills. There are plenty of examples and graphics to help with understanding on a deeper level. It has helped me refine my motivation interviewing skills and shed new insights on the spirit of MI which have improved my coaching skill and success of my clients. Plus, it is a great read and not dry or overly academic.

Lanier, Bean, and Arnold have written the ultimate guide for motivational interviewing (MI) in life and health coaching. As a national board-certified health and wellness coaching (NBC-HWC), I have taken introductory, advanced, and MI coding workshops and feel this new MI resource provides helpful framing, examples, and practical exercises aligned with the coaching process. Here are my top three reasons for loving this resource:#1 This book was written for coaches, by coaches.Coaching is a unique process and way of showing up in a helper role around the behavior change process, that looks a feels different than in counseling, addiction treatment, and other settings where it is widely used. I appreciated feeling like the information and teachings were aligned with coaching and alleviated the need to do the cognitive lift of translating the concepts into how they would show up in the coaching process.#2 This book is filled with practical scenarios and examples of how the skills sound when part of a coach-client conversation.Especially when new to MI, it can be easy to understand the skills and their definitions, but there's oftentimes a feeling of, "I know what the book says, but how does it sound when talking to clients?" The authors have provided "real-play" coaching scenarios and scripts that can be helpful in learning the "language" of MI as one navigates the skill development curve.#3 This book is honest about the need to go beyond reading to finding intentional ways to practice and hone the skills.MI cannot be learned by reading a book or taking a workshop or two, and the authors are clear about that. It is more more akin to any journey of growth and development, taking time and commitment. Fortunately, in the last chapter, the authors provide many clear and actionable steps to improving MI fluency, including self-practice options when structured opportunities are not ready available.I feel tremendous gratitude to authors Lanier, Bean, and Arnold for "translating" MI into the mindset and heartset of coaching so we can better embrace it as part of our core skillset and further elevate the field of health coaching aligned with evidence-supported practices.

I typically do not write reviews and here I am, writing this one. I completed reading this book last night and prior to reading this one, I read Miller's 4th edition on MI. So, timely enough as it was, it was a great comparison. While Miller's 4th edition was informative, Lanier's book really hit it out of the park for me. Miller's 4th edition embraced a style of writing that felt like a level of prestige of post-secondary education, like those in a doctorate program. A little bit dry and mechanical. The language with Lanier was relatable, the concepts were easier to grasp, and it was quite motivating to use! It was laid out like a roadmap of how to use MI in coaching, or therapy. The concepts were to the point, the examples were helpful, and the visual images were especially appealing. Being a visual learner, this really helped retain the concepts rather than just words on a page. The one critique is the lack of a Glossary. Miller's 4th edition does contain this and it is really helpful to quickly look up a concept or word.With that being said, I know Lanier personally and I can attest that her voice in this book resonates to how she teaches MI. What an amazing opportunity it was for me to learn from her. She is a great teacher and role model on how MI can work and should work. I now strive to hear from my clients, "Huh, that is a really good question." And each session I get that, I know that I am doing my best as a therapist and coach using MI.

I wish I had this book 13 years ago when I started my coaching career. It would have saved me from the struggle of connecting clients with their intrinsic motivators and fostering their autonomy. Many of us in the field have witnessed how motivational interviewing not only enhances our coaching skills but also empowers clients to achieve goals they once thought were out of reach. This book is essential reading for any coach who values their client's capacity for change

This book is more than just a book. It's a testimony to education to informing as well as sharing what the basics of change truly means and why change done in the most thoughtful and participatory way is what really moves the needle for all of us not just our clients.