Steven P. Wells is a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Oklahoma Anne and Henry Zarrow School of Social Work, and serves as Simulation Program Coordinator. He has worked in the field of family and children services since 1976 as a child welfare worker, family mediator, foster parent trainer, group counselor, and university professor. He is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Oklahoma (U.S.A.) and earned a doctorate in early childhood education in 2006. He teaches courses in social work practice, interviewing skills, and human behavior. He received a “Champions of Children Award” in 2008 from The Foster Care Association of Oklahoma, Inc., and was named Undergraduate Adviser of the Year in 2012 by the O.U. College of Arts and Sciences. His interests include children with disabilities and their families, child welfare services, counseling with abusive parents, foster parent training, and family mediation. He has explored Motivational Interviewing for the last ten years as a vital model for social work practice. Most of his MI training is within the context of child welfare services and allied health. He became associated with the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT) in 2017 Dr. Wells is married to a social worker and is the parent of four adult children.
The joy of learning and applying Motivational Interviewing is only matched by the satisfaction of assisting learners in doing the same. I strive to remain current with MI trends and to convey my enthusiasm for the method in my training. I’m open to many venues for sharing my expertise, but have trained mainly in the areas of allied health and family/children services.
