An evaluation of motivational interviewing as a method of intervention with clients in a probation setting

There have been increasing calls on the probation service to demonstrate ef fectiveness with the recent Evidence Based Practice guide (Home Office, 199 8) explicitly citing evaluative research as a means of achieving this. This article describes the quantitative part of a research project undertaken w ithin Middlesex Probation Service to evaluate the introduction of motivatio nal interviewing as a technique to aid probation officers in their assessme nt and supervision of offenders who misuse alcohol and drugs. Results sugge st that, irrespective of stratification, all offenders indicated an improve ment in their questionnaire scores during their contact with the probation service. However, there were more statistically significant improvements in the attitudinal scales amongst offenders whose officers were trained in th e technique compared to officers who were not trained in motivational inter viewing.