Evidence-based treatment that helps you identify and change the thought patterns driving addiction and mental health challenges. Used by every therapist at Valley Spring across all program levels.
Motivational Interviewing (MI) is an evidence-based, client-centered therapeutic approach that helps individuals explore and resolve ambivalence about change. Rather than telling someone what to do, MI uses open-ended questions, affirmations, reflective listening, and summarizing to help individuals discover their own reasons for change. This collaborative style is particularly effective for people who feel uncertain, resistant, or not yet ready to fully commit to recovery.
At Valley Spring Recovery Center, Motivational Interviewing is a core competency for every clinician on our team. MI principles guide how we approach client interactions from the very first assessment through ongoing treatment. Our therapists use MI to enhance motivation, strengthen commitment to recovery, and navigate the inevitable ambivalence that accompanies major life changes. Under the clinical leadership of Henry Iwuala and Dr. Michael Olla, MI is seamlessly integrated into every therapeutic encounter across all program levels.
MI is especially effective for people with co-occurring disorders -- those struggling with both substance use and mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, or PTSD. By addressing the thinking patterns that fuel both conditions, MI creates lasting change from the inside out.
Motivational Interviewing follows four core processes. Engaging builds a therapeutic alliance based on trust and respect. Focusing identifies the specific change targets that matter most to you. Evoking draws out your own arguments for change through strategic questioning. Planning develops a concrete action plan when you are ready. Throughout these processes, your therapist uses OARS techniques -- Open questions, Affirmations, Reflections, and Summaries -- to guide the conversation while keeping you in the driver's seat.
The first phase of MI focuses on awareness. Your therapist helps you recognize the automatic thoughts, cognitive distortions, and core beliefs that drive unhealthy behaviors. These might include catastrophizing ("everything is ruined"), all-or-nothing thinking ("if I slip once, I've failed"), or overgeneralization. At Valley Spring, this foundation is introduced in Week 1 of our Mental Health Program curriculum through dedicated MI Introduction sessions.
Once you can identify distorted thinking, you learn to challenge it. Your therapist guides you through techniques like cognitive restructuring, thought records, and Socratic questioning to test whether your thoughts are based in reality or fueled by emotion and habit. By Week 3 of treatment, our curriculum progresses to Cognitive Flexibility -- helping you challenge distortions, examine core beliefs, and build more balanced perspectives that support recovery.
The final phase translates insight into action. You practice new behavioral strategies -- such as grounding techniques, behavioral activation, exposure exercises, and relapse prevention planning -- that replace old patterns with constructive responses. These skills become tools you carry beyond treatment, helping you navigate triggers, cravings, and stressors in everyday life with confidence and clarity.
At Valley Spring Recovery Center, Motivational Interviewing is a valued component of our comprehensive treatment approach. Our clinical team integrates MI techniques into individualized treatment plans across all program levels, ensuring every client receives the benefits of this approach.
This means whether you are in Partial Care, Intensive Outpatient, Virtual IOP, or our Outpatient Program, you will receive MI-informed treatment from day one. Our dually-licensed clinicians combine MI with complementary modalities like DBT, motivational interviewing, and trauma-focused approaches to create a treatment experience tailored to your unique needs.
Under the clinical leadership of Henry Iwuala, Clinical Director, and Dr. Michael Olla, Medical Director, our team ensures that MI is delivered with both clinical rigor and genuine compassion -- creating a safe space for the difficult work of changing deeply held thought patterns.
Motivational Interviewing has strong clinical evidence for treating a wide range of substance use and mental health disorders.
Generalized anxiety, social anxiety, and panic disorder
Major depressive disorder and persistent depressive disorder
Post-traumatic stress from trauma, abuse, or critical incidents
Alcohol, opioid, cocaine, and polysubstance addictions
Obsessive-compulsive disorder and related conditions
Mood stabilization and managing manic-depressive episodes
Attention-deficit patterns, impulsivity, and focus challenges
Emotional regulation and interpersonal relationship patterns
Disordered eating patterns and body image distortions
Simultaneous substance use and mental health conditions
MI is not limited to a single program -- it is a core therapy modality integrated into every stage of care at Valley Spring.
Intensive daily MI sessions address acute thought distortions. Structured curriculum introduces MI fundamentals, thought records, and cognitive awareness during the most critical stabilization phase.
MI deepens with cognitive flexibility work -- challenging distortions, examining core beliefs, and building restructuring skills. Group MI sessions reinforce individual progress with peer support.
MI continues via telehealth with real-world application. Clients practice MI techniques in their daily environment while maintaining therapeutic support and accountability.
MI skills become lifelong tools. Alumni access ongoing CBT-informed groups and check-ins that reinforce healthy thinking patterns and prevent relapse long after primary treatment ends.
Decades of clinical research consistently demonstrate MI as one of the most effective therapeutic approaches for addiction and mental health treatment.
At Valley Spring, our commitment to evidence-based care means we do not simply offer MI as an add-on -- we build treatment plans around it. Our CARF accreditation reflects our adherence to the highest standards of clinical practice, and our therapists receive ongoing training to stay current with the latest MI research and techniques. This dedication to clinical excellence is what makes MI at Valley Spring not just a therapy session, but a transformative experience.
Speak with our admissions team to learn how MI can be part of your personalized recovery plan.
Whether it is your first session or your fiftieth, here is what MI looks like at Valley Spring Recovery Center.
Your first MI session is designed to feel safe, structured, and collaborative. You will not be asked to dive into deep emotional territory right away. Instead, your therapist will:
Most clients describe their first session as "surprisingly comfortable." Our therapists are skilled at building rapport quickly and creating a judgment-free space for honest conversation.
As treatment progresses, MI sessions become more focused and skills-oriented. You will move from awareness into active change:
In group MI sessions, you will also benefit from hearing how peers apply these techniques -- often gaining insights that deepen your own understanding and accelerate progress.
Our admissions team is available to answer your questions and help you get started with treatment.