Glenn Hinds Motivation & Coaching Consultants

22/06/2026

How do we continue to improve our Motivational Interviewing skills once the training is over?

In the latest episode of Talking To Change, Sebastian Kaplan and I are joined once again by Katie Hartlieb for a fascinating conversation about coding, coaching and ongoing skill development in Motivational Interviewing.

Katie shares her experience of using the Motivational Interviewing Treatment Integrity Code (MITI) to support practitioners in developing greater awareness of their practice and strengthening their MI skills through structured feedback and coaching.

The episode includes:
• Katie’s journey into Motivational Interviewing
• The value of coding and feedback in professional development
• A live coaching demonstration
• Practical insights for anyone seeking to deepen their MI practice

Whether you are a practitioner, trainer, coach, counsellor, social worker, psychologist, or manager, this episode offers valuable reflections on how we learn, maintain and improve the conversations that support change.

Listen here:
https://podcast.glennhinds.com/episodes/ep-95-advancing-mi-practice-through-coding-and-coaching

As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts and reflections after listening.

Glenn and Sebastian welcomed back Katie Hartlieb, PhD, RDN, to discuss advancing MI practice through coding and coaching. Dr. Hartlieb is a professor...

09/06/2026

On Sunday evening I had the pleasure of listening and dancing to David Byrne at St Anne’s Park in Dublin. Somewhere between the music, the movement, and the pouring rain, I found myself reflecting on a simple idea he shared from actor and director John Cameron Mitchell:

“Love and kindness are the most punk things you can do right now.”

The phrase stayed with me.

Over the following days I found myself wondering what it might mean, particularly in the context of Motivational Interviewing and the person-centred helping tradition.

In this blog, I explore the idea that love and kindness can be powerful forms of resistance in a world that often encourages judgement, certainty, and division. I also reflect on the concept of “resistance” in helping relationships and whether what we sometimes see as difficult behaviour may actually be a person’s attempt to protect something important such as their dignity, autonomy, identity, or hope.

I’d be interested to hear what the phrase means to you.

Read the full article here:

https://www.glennhinds.com/love-is-punk/

A reflection on David Byrne's 'Love Is Punk' - Resistance, Compassion, and What Motivational Interviewing Can Teach Us About Human Change

01/04/2026

Big Update: Motivational Interviewing Guidelines Changing from June 2026

After a major international review led by senior trainers and researchers, a new model of Motivational Interviewing is being introduced.

The approach is called:

Direct Persuasion MI (DPMI)

Key changes include:
• The “Fixing Reflex” is now considered a core skill
• Practitioners are encouraged to offer advice within the first 90 seconds
• Reflections have been replaced with “Helpful Corrections”
• Open questions should be used sparingly, as they “slow progress”

There is also a new evidence-informed technique called:

“Strategic Sighing”
Used to communicate disappointment when clients are not making sensible choices

Early pilot results are promising:
• Sessions are 40 percent shorter
• Practitioners feel more in control
• Clients… are attending fewer follow-up appointments

Training programmes are being updated, and a new coding system is on the way:

MITI 5.0: Directive Edition

Full guidance to be released later today.

Alright… .

If anything, the longer we practise MI, the more we are reminded:

Change doesn’t come from pressure, persuasion, or perfectly timed advice.
It comes from partnership, empathy, and helping people hear their own reasons.

Still… “Strategic Sighing” might feel familiar to some of us.

27/03/2026

Delighted to take another step towards Net Zero with our new fully electric BYD.

At Glenn Hinds Motivation & Coaching Consultants, we believe our actions should reflect our values. Moving to an electric vehicle is one way we are working towards a more sustainable future.

A big thank you to Charlie from CarLease4U.com for making the process smooth and helping us find the right fit.

Small changes matter. This is one we are proud of.

BYD Auto Europe Car Lease 4 U

25/03/2026

Three days of Motivational Interviewing with the team at Action for Children / Ballymena SureStart.

Working alongside practitioners who are already supporting families with mental health, emotional wellbeing, and early years development, often through approaches like the Solihull Model.

What stood out was how naturally MI fits with this work.

Conversations rooted in empathy.
Supporting parents to feel understood, not judged.
Working with uncertainty and mixed feelings.
Strengthening confidence and connection in families.

MI builds on what is already there. It helps shape everyday conversations so that change comes from within, not from pressure.

A thoughtful, open, and committed group. A real privilege to work with you all.

MentalHealth ActionForChildren PublicHealthNI FamilySupport TraumaInformedPractice

25/03/2026

I had a brilliant three days with the team at Action for Children Northern Ireland / Surestart Ballymena delivering Motivational Interviewing training as part of the Public Health Agency NI funded programme.

The team already use approaches like the Solihull Model, supporting families with parenting, emotional wellbeing, and mental health. There was a strong focus on understanding behaviour, building relationships, and helping parents feel supported rather than judged.

We explored how can strengthen this work even further:
• Listening in a way that helps parents feel safe and understood
• Supporting emotional wellbeing by acknowledging stress, uncertainty, and pressure
• Helping parents find their own reasons and confidence for change
• Working with mixed feelings rather than pushing for quick fixes
• Keeping relationships at the centre of every conversation

It was clear throughout the training that this team already values compassionate, relational work. Motivational Interviewing gives a clear structure to support those conversations and build on what they are already doing so well.

A really engaged, thoughtful group. Thanks for the warmth, honesty, and commitment across the three days.

fans Glenn Hinds Motivation & Coaching Consultants

02/02/2026

A blast from the past.

On 16 July 2001, The Sentinel ran this piece when I took up a post as a Community Drug Therapist in the Northern area of the westernhsctrust. I had just moved home after many years away, stepping into work that was urgent, complex, and deeply human.

What strikes me reading this now is not the job title or the photo. It is the core idea that still holds up. People use for reasons. Usually sensible ones, given the context of their lives. , loss, , disconnection, survival. When we ignore those reasons and focus only on stopping behaviour, we miss the point and often miss the person.

Back then, the work was already about one to one conversations, curiosity, and helping people make informed choices rather than being told what to do. That thinking later found a strong home in Motivational Interviewing, and it continues to shape how I train, coach, and work with practitioners today.

Twenty five years on, the systems look different, the language has changed, and the pressures have intensified. But the fundamentals remain. Effective change work is . It starts with respect. It grows through listening. And it works best when people feel rather than managed.

I am sharing this not for nostalgia, but as a reminder. Good practice has a long memory. Our task is to keep applying it with skill, humility, and care, even when the context gets harder.

If you are working in substance use, mental health, social care, or any role where change conversations matter, this is the work. And it still matters.