Ace the Alcohol and Drug Counselor Exam 2026 – Conquer Your Counseling Career with Confidence!

Enhanced self-motivation is a key expected outcome of using proper motivational interviewing techniques. This counseling style focuses on creating a supportive environment where clients can express their feelings, thoughts, and ambivalence about change without feeling judged. Through active listening and empathy, counselors help clients explore their own motivations, aspirations, and the discrepancies between their current behavior and desired goals.

This process fosters self-efficacy and empowers clients to take ownership of their change process. They are more likely to feel motivated from within to pursue behavioral changes, as opposed to changes prompted solely by external pressures or authority figures. Building self-motivation is crucial in addiction treatment, as the desire and commitment to change often need to come from the individual rather than from the counselor or external sources.

The other options, such as increased resistance, greater reliance on authority, and immediate change in behavior, do not align with the fundamental principles of motivational interviewing. Instead of eliciting resistance, the goal is to break down barriers and foster collaboration. Motivational interviewing also emphasizes individual agency, which counters reliance on authority figures, and recognizes that meaningful change typically takes time rather than occurring immediately.