Motivational Interviewing in the Treatment of Anxiety

289 Pages·2012·2.16 MB·English

by  Henny A. Westra

Motivational interviewing
in the treatMent of anxiety
ApplicAtions of MotivAtionAl interviewing
Stephen rollnick and william r. Miller, Series Editors
Since the publication of Miller and rollnick’s classic Motivational Interviewing, Mi
has become hugely popular as a tool for facilitating many different kinds of pos-
itive behavior change. this highly practical series demonstrates Mi approaches
for a range of applied contexts and with a variety of populations. each accessible
volume reviews the empirical evidence base and presents easy-to-implement
strategies, illuminating concrete examples, and clear-cut guidance on integrat-
ing Mi with other interventions.
Motivational interviewing in the treatment of psychological problems
Hal Arkowitz, Henny A. Westra, William R. Miller, and Stephen Rollnick, Editors
Motivational interviewing in Health care:
Helping patients change Behavior
Stephen Rollnick, William R. Miller, and Christopher C. Butler
Building Motivational interviewing skills: A practitioner workbook
David B. Rosengren
Motivational interviewing with Adolescents and Young Adults
Sylvie Naar-King and Mariann Suarez
Motivational interviewing in social work practice
Melinda Hohman
Motivational interviewing in the treatment of Anxiety
Henny A. Westra
Motivational interviewing: Helping people change, third edition
William R. Miller and Stephen Rollnick
Motivational
interviewing
in the treatment
of Anxiety
Henny A. westra
The Guilford Press
new york london
© 2012 The Guilford Press
A Division of Guilford Publications, Inc.
72 Spring Street, New York, NY 10012
www.guilford.com
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, translated, stored in
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or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.
Printed in the United States of America
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Last digit is print number: 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The author has checked with sources believed to be reliable in her efforts to provide informa-
tion that is complete and generally in accord with the standards of practice that are accepted
at the time of publication. However, in view of the possibility of human error or changes in
behavioral, mental health, or medical sciences, neither the author, nor the editors and publisher,
nor any other party who has been involved in the preparation or publication of this work war-
rants that the information contained herein is in every respect accurate or complete, and they
are not responsible for any errors or omissions or the results obtained from the use of such
information. Readers are encouraged to confirm the information contained in this book with
other sources.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Westra, Henny A.
Motivational interviewing in the treatment of anxiety / Henny A. Westra. — 1st ed.
p. cm. — (Applications of motivational interviewing)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4625-0481-7 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Anxiety. 2. Motivational interviewing. 3. Anxiety—Treatment. I. Title.
BF575.A6.W47 2012
158.3′9—dc23
2012001799
To Bill and Steve for their pioneering efforts
To my dear colleagues at York (and Mike)
who regularly inspire me
To Joanne, Clarence, Meisje, and Jenny
for their unconditional love
To my parents for their support
And to Carl Rogers,
the grandfather of motivational interviewing

about the author
Henny A. Westra, PhD, is Associate Professor of Psychology at York Uni-
versity in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She has extensive clinical and research
experience and has worked as a front-line clinician, clinical director, pro-
fessor, and trainer. Dr. Westra’s research on motivation and interpersonal
process in psychotherapy has been funded by the National Institute of
Mental Health and the Canadian Institute of Health Research. She has
presented and published widely on the treatment of anxiety and depression.
vii

Series editors’ note
t
he field of motivational interviewing (MI) is moving fast. Rising
publication rates across diverse areas reflect the attentiveness not only of
researchers, but of clinicians too. This book combines both sensibilities, in
a new area of application.
The orientation of this text will serve the field well. MI emerged from
humanistic and behavioral psychotherapy, and in the face of so many efforts
to adapt it for use by practitioners outside of these fields, this book returns
you to its roots. Henny Westra pays very careful attention to the therapeu-
tic relationship and to what happens in a conversation about change. These
are the twin threads that run through any use of MI, and they are woven
together with considerable skill in this text. The book shines with clinical
experience.
The clients Westra writes about are mostly help-seeking, and they
often present with interrelated problems, whatever label is attached to
them. Westra breaks new ground in demonstrating how to discuss complex
problems without oversimplification, and with a clear sense of direction:
resolution that promotes growth and freedom from tension, distress, and
disability.
This book arrives at a time of transition in our own writing on MI,
shortly before the third edition of our text appears (Miller & Rollnick,
in press), yet the evidence of synergy with our work is striking. Westra’s
journey into what she calls the action stage is well matched by our own
thinking on what we call the planning process. Put simply, talk about plan-
ning involves skillful attention to the language of change, as does helping
someone resolve ambivalence and move toward decision making.
ix