Motivational Interviewing - Advanced Skills

Course Overview

This advanced Motivational Interviewing (MI) course builds on foundational MI knowledge and skills. Participants will deepen their ability to move beyond MI as a relational approach and develop the technical skills needed to effectively soften "sustain talk" and evoke "change talk." The course also explores strategies for reducing interpersonal discord and facilitating productive conversations across all four MI tasks: engaging, focusing, evoking and planning.

Learning Objectives

As a result of this course, participants will be able to:

Identify change talk.
Demonstrate at least two ways to evoke change talk and two ways to strengthen change talk.
Display at least two ways to navigate sustain talk and two ways to navigate discord.
Practice facilitating a motivational conversation across all four tasks.

CEUs

0.6

Section Number

263SSA218

Instruction Method

Online class

Section Notes

This training is an early/pilot version of the course, and we'll be leaning on your valuable feedback to further refine the training. Participation in the pilot is an excellent opportunity to provide feedback to ensure it meets the learning needs of the CA family serving system in an effort to best serve children, families, and communities.

Prerequisite: This is an advanced level course and foundational knowledge and skill of motivational interviewing is required to attend, including completion of a foundational motivational interviewing course. Motivational Interviewing Foundations, provided by CalAcademies, satisfies this requirement.

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Section Schedule

Tues., Jan 5th, 2027, 9:00am to 4:00pm

Fees

$0.00

Instructors

Larisa Traga

Larisa Traga, LCSW, is a master addiction counselor and co-occurring disorders specialist with extensive experience providing training, supervision, consultation and therapy across Santa Barbara County and beyond. She has served as a practitioner and team supervisor, working with diverse populations including individuals with co-occurring disorders, PTSD and severe and persistent mental illness. In private practice, she provides culturally responsive psychotherapy for children, adolescents and adults using a trauma-informed, eclectic approach. Traga is also an EMDRIA-approved EMDR certified therapist, consultant and trainer, a certified motivational interviewing trainer and a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers. Since 2015, she has served as an adjunct instructor at Allan Hancock College. She also provides training, consultation and crisis debriefing nationwide.

Christina Stimmann

Christina Stimmann, LCSW, M.H.S.A., M.S.W., has worked for more than 26 years in health and social services. Currently a Mental Health Services manager for Solano County, she is responsible for clinical and contract management for the Acute and Sub-Acute Care programs overseeing hospital liaison, crisis stabilization, crisis residential, crisis aftercare and long-term residential care teams who provide a variety of services to consumers who are seriously and persistently mentally ill. The focus of her work is to promote stability, wellness and recovery through a client-centered approach of trauma sensitivity, attuned engagement, and an open access to services and support.