Integrating motivational interviewing into the treatment of anxiety

(from the chapter) Motivational interviewing (MI) has been widely used and supported in the treatment of substance abuse. However, its application to anxiety disorders is a relatively recent development. In this chapter, we discuss existing treatments for anxiety, outline the rationale for adapting MI for anxiety, present an overview of this approach (with clinical illustrations), outline the clinical challenges in this work, and present the results of a pilot study using this application of MI as a prelude to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety disorders. Given that other chapters in this volume deal with specific anxiety disorders (posttraumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder), we focus on other common anxiety disorders including generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social phobia, panic disorder, and agoraphobia. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (chapter)