Responsive therapy and motivational interviewing: Postmodernist paradigms

Two counseling approaches of relatively recent origin, responsive therapy a nd motivational interviewing are described and compared. Both operate throu gh a series of stages and from a collaborative and postmodernist ethic. The y involve prescriptive use of standard micro-skills at the beginning stage and progress to focused and active, intentional intervention strategies. Re sponsive Therapy claims to allow integration of active interventions from a variety of theory bases, whereas Motivational Interviewing has a strongly cognitive-behavioral flavor. Both serve as viable alternatives to a traditi onal diagnose and prescribe mindset while maintaining efficient and effecti ve dynamics appropriate to contemporary brief therapy and managed care cont exts.