Most people who wonder about their drinking or drug use are not short on advice. They have heard it from family, a doctor, or maybe themselves at 2 a.m. What they rarely get is a conversation where nobody is pushing. That is the premise of motivational interviewing for substance abuse in Comstock Park, MI, at Hess Psychological Services: a collaborative counseling approach that helps you hear your own reasons for change and decide what to do with them.
Motivational interviewing (MI) was developed by clinical psychologists William Miller and Stephen Rollnick. It is an evidence-based addiction therapy style that sits between simply listening and handing out instructions. At Hess Psychological Services, it is one of several approaches our team draws on in substance use disorder treatment, alongside other evidence-based and holistic methods.
When Part of You Wants to Change, and Part of You Does Not
Ambivalence about change is normal. You might enjoy how a few drinks quiet a stressful day and also hate how mornings feel. You might know cannabis is costing you motivation and still not be ready to give it up. Many treatment approaches treat that mixed feeling as resistance to overcome. Motivational interviewing treats it as the most useful information in the room.
Instead of arguing for one side, your therapist helps you lay both sides out clearly. When you name the costs, the pull toward change comes from you rather than from someone else. Clinicians call this “change talk,” and it is the thread a session follows. Change built on intrinsic motivation is yours to keep because you never borrowed it from anyone else.
What a Session Actually Sounds Like
As a client-centered therapy approach, it follows four overlapping processes.
Engaging
The first goal is a working relationship. Your therapist wants to understand your life, not just your substance use: work, relationships, sleep, stress, and what a good week looks like for you.
Focusing
Together you choose what to talk about. For some clients that is alcohol use counseling; for others it is prescription pills, cannabis, or a pattern that has not got a name yet. The focus is agreed, not assigned.
Evoking
This is the core of the work. Through open questions and careful reflection, your therapist draws out your own hopes, concerns, and reasons. These behavior-change techniques are subtle, but they shift the conversation from “should I?” to “how would I?”
Planning
When you are ready, and only then, you build a plan. That might mean cutting back, a period of abstinence, or exploring additional recovery support services. You set the pace.
You may also come across motivational enhancement therapy, a related, more structured format built on the same principles. Learn more about how our counselors use the method on our motivational interviewing therapy page.
Signs Motivational Interviewing for Substance Abuse May Fit You
Motivational interviewing is designed for people at any point in their relationship with substances. It tends to be a strong fit if you:
Feel unsure whether your use is “a real problem” and want to think it through without being labeled
Have tried to cut back before and want to understand what got in the way
Feel defensive when others bring up your drinking or drug use
Are already in recovery and want to protect the progress you have made
Are looking for drug addiction help that respects your own judgment
Motivational interviewing is an outpatient approach. If you have physical withdrawal symptoms, or have been told that stopping suddenly could be unsafe, talk with a medical provider first so you get the right level of care.
How Motivational Interviewing Works Alongside CBT and Relapse Prevention Strategies
Motivation answers the question of why. Other tools help with how. Many clients pair MI with cognitive behavioral therapy, which works on the thoughts and situations that set off cravings, and with mindfulness-based skills for riding out urges without acting on them. Together they form practical relapse prevention strategies grounded in your own goals.
Substance use rarely shows up alone. When it travels with anxiety, low mood and depression, or the effects of trauma, treating those concerns together usually makes more sense than treating them one at a time.
When Someone You Love Is the One Struggling
Watching a partner, parent, or adult child struggle with substances is exhausting, and the usual moves of pleading, warning, and monitoring often backfire. Hess Psychological Services also offers therapy for loved ones affected by substance use. The same principles behind MI can help family members talk about change in a way that lowers defensiveness, while also protecting their own well-being.
Getting Care Close to Home in Kent County
Our Comstock Park office is a short drive for clients across Kent County, including Northview, Rockford, and the wider Grand Rapids, MI, mental health community. Read more about our Comstock Park psychological services. Appointments are available during the day, in the evening, and on weekends, and telehealth sessions are available if getting to the office is hard.
Start Talking From Wherever You Stand Today
You do not need a plan, a diagnosis, or a firm decision to begin. If you are curious about addiction counseling in Michigan that starts with your own reasons, send the practice a message to set up a first appointment.