I am a psychiatrist. I recently retired from the University of Iowa where I was on faculty for 30 years. My work has mostly been with adults with serious mental illnesses, with a focus on schizophrneia. I am particularly interested in the use of Motivational Interviewing in this population as a foundation for recovery-oriented mental health care. My experience is that among front-line providers of mental health serivces, psychiatrists are often more resistant to recovery-oriented approahes than others, and I have found that training them in MI is a good way to enhance their recovery-orientation. It has also been my experience that adults learners learn best from peers, e.g., psychiatrists are more responsive to MI training when it is psychiatrist-led. Aside from ongoing MI training, my other major current professional focus is in my role as President of the American Association of Community Psychiatrists.
