Examining Motivational Interviewing as a Culturally Responsive Approach to Communication

Motivational interviewing (MI) is a client-centered communication style that aims to enhance an individual's motivation to change by exploring and resolving ambivalence. This approach has potential to be particularly effective in diverse cultural contexts, as it is fundamentally a person-centered (and, in emerging work such as Macro MI, community-centered) practice. Today, let's critically examine how cultural responsiveness and humility show up in Motivational Interviewing, and where there is still room for growth.

Culturally Responsive Motivational Interviewing Today: Identifying Strengths

Strong Foundations in the Spirit of MI

Though formally articulated shortly after Motivational Interviewing took its first steps, the Spirit of MI has since become the cornerstone of effective practice, held as sacred among skilled practitioners. I would go a step further and argue that if there's anyone who "can't do MI," it would be those who cannot understand, appreciate, or embrace its spirit, for whatever complex and potentially valid reason. This is because the Spirit of MI is what positions Motivational Interviewing to be naturally person-centered, standing in stark contrast to other ways of helping others—especially the more sterile and clinical approaches.

What is the Spirit of Motivational Interviewing?

The Spirit of MI: Partnership, Acceptance, Compassion, Empowerment

Partnership:

Partnership in effective MI practice recognizes that people are experts on themselves, and therefore the Spirit of MI tells us to avoid taking an “expert stance” that “talks down” to anyone. Instead, as an MI practitioner, your expertise complements their expertise as you walk alongside the person you are helping and guiding. This makes MI collaborative, and more like dancing than wrestling. And while it takes two to tango, in MI your partner (the client) takes the lead.

Acceptance:

Acceptance tells MI practitioners to embrace open-heartedness and open-mindedness in equal harmony. This means adopting an empathetic, affirming, and nonjudgmental approach to guiding others, both in communication tone and content. While acceptance is different than approval—MI would not endorse somebody struggling with addiction to continue using substances—it still supports healing by taking people as they are and where they are in their own journey. Strong MI practitioners accept and work with their clients instead of forcing their clients to accept and work with them.

Compassion:

Compassion, both within and outside of MI, is distinct from and goes beyond sympathy or pity. Compassion is an action-based stance that combines authentic and accurate empathy with a genuine commitment to support, advocate, and alleviate suffering in ways that honor another person’s autonomy and dignity.

In MI, this positions the practitioner away from the role of “fixer” and towards the role of ally, allowing you to give top priority to the wellbeing of those you serve.

Empowerment:

Empowerment as a concept is at once liberating and problematic. Liberating empowerment recognizes the power of mutual allyship and healing in defiance of opposing, oftentimes dominant and dominating, forces. Problematic empowerment treats power or agency or autonomy like a gift to be bestowed upon others. While this is an area that merits further critical conversation in the MI community, practitioners who are truly aligned with the Spirit of MI naturally resist the idea of being a “provider” fixing a deficit. They believe in helping people realize and utilize their own strengths by actively affirming peoples’ ability to make their own choices.

How Is the Spirit of Motivational Interviewing Culturally Responsive?

Challenging Implicit Bias: Did you assume gender(s) of the above figures?

When viewed through a culturally responsive lens, the Spirit of MI isn’t just compatible with diversity, equity, inclusion. It demands it.

Partnership becomes more than collaboration; it becomes a recognition of lived experience, cultural wisdom, and community knowledge. In cross-cultural contexts, this means practitioners must not only walk alongside individuals but also remain open to being guided by cultural values that may differ from their own.

Acceptance deepens when we acknowledge that people’s behaviors, beliefs, and ambivalence are shaped by cultural narratives, systemic barriers, and historical trauma. MI’s stance of nonjudgment allows space for these complexities to be named and honored, rather than pathologized or dismissed.

Compassion in culturally responsive MI means showing up with humility and curiosity. It means understanding that suffering may be compounded by marginalization, and that healing conversations must be attuned to identity, community, power, and context. It also means committing, as a practitioner, to the lifelong journey of cultural humility.

Empowerment, when grounded in cultural responsiveness, shifts from “giving voice” to “listening for voice.” It affirms that autonomy is not a universal experience, not always culturally valued (especially if it comes from an individualistic perspective), and not a given for certain people(s). Autonomy is shaped by culture, community, access (including social determinants of health or SDOH), and the forces of privilege and oppression. MI practitioners who embrace this truth help clients reclaim agency in ways that are authentic and culturally congruent.

Culturally Responsive Motivational Interviewing Today: Room for Growth

Critical Conversations in Motivational Interviewing

While Motivational Interviewing (MI) is built on values that align naturally with cultural responsiveness, the field still has important work to do in deepening its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Here are several areas that call for further reflection and dialogue:

1. Expanding Beyond Individualism: MI’s emphasis on autonomy and personal agency can unintentionally reflect Western, individualistic norms. In many cultures, decisions are often made in the context of family, community, or spiritual guidance. As MI practitioners, we must learn to adapt their approach to honor these relational dynamics without compromising the spirit of MI.
   

2. Addressing Structural Barriers: MI focuses on internal motivation, but as practitioners, we must also acknowledge external barriers to change, such as racism, poverty, or lack of access to care. Without this lens, MI risks placing the burden of change solely on the individual, rather than recognizing the broader systems that shape (or limit) behavior.
   

3. Representation in Research and Training: Much of MI’s foundational research centered on white, English-speaking populations in clinical settings. This is shifting daily, but there’s a need for more studies and training materials that reflect diverse cultural contexts, languages, and lived experiences, especially those shaped by systemic oppression or historical trauma. Encouragingly, the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT) has been making tremendous strides in this regard in recent years. As always with the work of cultural humility, however, more hopeful work remains to be done.
   

Best Practices for Combining Cultural Responsiveness and the Spirit of MI

Combining Cultural Responsiveness and the Spirit of MI is a Lifelong Practice

In practice, bringing together cultural responsiveness and the Spirit of MI isn’t just a matter of technique. It also involves making a personal commitment to equity, cultural humility, and authentic connection. Here are key practices that help practitioners cultivate harmony between Cultural Responsiveness and the Spirit of MI:

Open Questions - Invite Cultural Expertise into the Conversation: To further enhance Partnership and Empowerment, position the client as the expert, not only on themselves, but on their culture, community, and lived experience. Try asking open-ended questions that invite stories, metaphors, and wisdom rooted in their background, heritage, community values, and other less individualistic concerns. This not only sews trust; it also gives you more wisdom about what truly matters to your client that you can use to continue guiding them on their own path.

Affirming - Speak to Strengths in Culturally Meaningful Ways: Spirt-aligned MI is about elevating growth in a way that truly resonates with someone's lived experience. When affirming others, take time to understand what matters in their cultural context. A small act of courage, a quiet form of leadership, or a gesture rooted in tradition may carry deep significance that can easily be taken for granted if we are not careful. Meaningful affirmations ought to reflect both the person and the world they come from.

Reflecting - Practice Deep Listening and Reflect Cultural Values: Cultural considerations in your MI practice are not a distraction from the target issue, be it quitting smoking or receiving professional coaching. To truly embody the Spirit of MI, it's critical to move beyond surface-level empathy and listen for cultural beliefs, community narratives, and identity markers that shape a person’s ambivalence and motivation. Reflect not just what’s said, but what’s culturally significant. And remember that if you're doing it right, you will have built enough trust that your client will likely correct you if you accidentally reflect an assumption or implicit bias. MI practitioners are human, too.

Summarizing - Include More of Their Story: Summarizing in MI sometimes gets taken for granted, which is a shame. At its best, a summary provides a gentle pause where you offer back someone’s words with warmth, clarity, and respect, solidifying mutual and genuine trust. It tells the person you’ve truly been listening, not just hearing. In culturally responsive practice, a summary ought to validate lived experience, affirm identity, and elevate values that might otherwise be overlooked. It gives space for someone to breathe and feel seen, especially in moments when vulnerability is high, such as when somebody is contemplating change.

How Ocotillo Training and Consulting Can Support Your Journey

Growth Sometimes Involves Unlearning

If the ideas in this blog post resonate with you—if you believe that change conversations should be rooted in respect, cultural humility, and real connection—Ocotillo Training and Consulting is here to help.

We offer professional development that goes deeper than what you're used to. Our trainings in Motivational Interviewing, leadership, education, public health, and DEI are designed to help professionals embody person-centeredness while deepening their cultural responsiveness.

Whether you're a clinician, educator, supervisor, or community leader, we’ll work with you to create learning experiences that are engaging, inclusive, and tailored to your context. Our goal is to help you build trust, evoke change, and foster transformation that lasts.

Visit www.ocotillotraining.com to learn more or reach out to explore how we can support your team’s growth. We’re honored to walk alongside you.