Chapter 1-- Conceptualizing Motivation And Change

Motivation can be understood not as something that one has but rather as something one does. It involves recognizing a problem, searching for a way to change, and then beginning and sticking with that change strategy. There are, it turns out, many ways to help people move toward such recognition and action. Miller, 1995

Why do people change? What is motivation? Can individuals' motivation to change their substance-using behavior be modified? Do clinicians have a role in enhancing substance-using clients' motivation for recovery?

Over the past 15 years, considerable research and clinical attention have focused on ways to better motivate substance users to consider, initiate, and continue substance abuse treatment, as well as to stop or reduce their excessive use of alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs, either on their own or with the help of a formal program.

A related focus has been on sustaining change and avoiding a recurrence of problem behavior following treatment discharge. This research represents a paradigmatic shift in the addiction field's understanding of the nature of client motivation and the clinician's role in shaping it to promote and maintain positive behavioral change. This shift parallels other recent developments in the addiction field, and the new motivational strategies incorporate or reflect many of these developments.

Coupling a new therapeutic style--motivational interviewing--with a transtheoretical stages-of-change model offers a fresh perspective on what clinical strategies may be effective at various points in the recovery process. Motivational interventions resulting from this theoretical construct are promising clinical tools that can be incorporated into all phases of substance abuse treatment as well as many other social and health services settings.

A New Look at Motivation

In substance abuse treatment, clients' motivation to change has often been the focus of clinical interest and frustration. Motivation has been described as a prerequisite for treatment, without which the clinician can do little (Beckman, 1980). Similarly, lack of motivation has been used to explain the failure of individuals to begin, continue, comply with, and succeed in treatment (Appelbaum, 1972; Miller, 1985b).

Until recently, motivation was viewed as a static trait or disposition that a client either did or did not have. If a client was not motivated for change, this was viewed as the client's fault. In fact, motivation for treatment connoted an agreement or willingness to go along with a clinician's or program's particular prescription for recovery. A client who seemed amenable to clinical advice or accepted the label of "alcoholic" or "drug addict" was considered to be motivated, whereas one who resisted a diagnosis or refused to adhere to the proffered treatment was deemed unmotivated.

Furthermore, motivation was often viewed as the client's responsibility, not the clinician's (Miller and Rollnick, 1991). Although there are reasons why this view developed that will be discussed later, this guideline views motivation from a substantially different perspective.

A New Definition

The motivational approaches described in this TIP are based on the following assumptions about the nature of motivation:

Motivation is a key to change.
Motivation is multidimensional.
Motivation is dynamic and fluctuating.
Motivation is influenced by social interactions.
Motivation can be modified.
Motivation is influenced by the clinician's style.
The clinician's task is to elicit and enhance motivation.

Motivation is a key to change

The study of motivation is inexorably linked to an understanding of personal change--a concept that has also been scrutinized by modern psychologists and theorists and is the focus of substance abuse treatment. The nature of change and its causes, like motivation, is a complex construct with evolving definitions. Few of us, for example, take a completely deterministic view of change as an inevitable result of biological forces, yet most of us accept the reality that physical growth and maturation do produce change--the baby begins to walk and the adolescent seems to be driven by hormonal changes.

We recognize, too, that social norms and roles can change responses, influencing behaviors as diverse as selecting clothes or joining a gang, although few of us want to think of ourselves as simply conforming to what others expect. Certainly, we believe that reasoning and problem-solving as well as emotional commitment can promote change.

The framework for linking individual change to a new view of motivation stems from what has been termed a phenomenological theory of psychology, most familiarly expressed in the writings of Carl Rogers. In this humanistic view, an individual's experience of the core inner self is the most important element for personal change and growth--a process of self-actualization that prompts goal-directed behavior for enhancing this self (Davidson, 1994).

In this context, motivation is redefined as purposeful, intentional, and positive--directed toward the best interests of the self. More specifically, motivation is the probability that a person will enter into, continue, and adhere to a specific change strategy (Miller and Rollnick, 1991).

Motivation is multidimensional

Motivation, in this new meaning, has a number of complex components that will be discussed in subsequent chapters of this TIP. It encompasses the internal urges and desires felt by the client, external pressures and goals that influence the client, perceptions about risks and benefits of behaviors to the self, and cognitive appraisals of the situation.

Motivation is dynamic and fluctuating

Research and experience suggest that motivation is a dynamic state that can fluctuate over time and in relation to different situations, rather than a static personal attribute. Motivation can vacillate between conflicting objectives. Motivation also varies in intensity, faltering in response to doubts and increasing as these are resolved and goals are more clearly envisioned. In this sense, motivation can be an ambivalent, equivocating state or a resolute readiness to act--or not to act.

Motivation is influenced by social interactions

Motivation belongs to one person, yet it can be understood to result from the interactions between the individual and other people or environmental factors (Miller, 1995b). Although internal factors are the basis for change, external factors are the conditions of change. An individual's motivation to change can be strongly influenced by family, friends, emotions, and community support. Lack of community support, such as barriers to health care, employment, and public perception of substance abuse, can also affect an individual's motivation.

Motivation can be modified

Motivation pervades all activities, operating in multiple contexts and at all times. Consequently, motivation is accessible and can be modified or enhanced at many points in the change process. Clients may not have to "hit bottom" or experience terrible, irreparable consequences of their behaviors to become aware of the need for change. Clinicians and others can access and enhance a person's motivation to change well before extensive damage is done to health, relationships, reputation, or self-image (Miller, 1985; Miller et al., 1993).

Although there are substantial differences in what factors influence people's motivation, several types of experiences may have dramatic effects, either increasing or decreasing motivation.

Experiences such as the following often prompt people to begin thinking about making changes and to consider what steps are needed:

Distress levels may have a role in increasing the motivation to change or search for a change strategy (Leventhal, 1971; Rogers et al., 1978). For example, many individuals are prompted to change and seek help during or following episodes of severe anxiety or depression.

Critical life events often stimulate the motivation to change. Milestones that prompt change range from spiritual inspiration or religious conversion through traumatic accidents or severe illnesses to deaths of loved ones, being fired, becoming pregnant, or getting married (Sobell et al., 1993b; Tucker et al., 1994).

Cognitive evaluation or appraisal, in which an individual evaluates the impact of substances in his life, can lead to change. This weighing of the pros and cons of substance use accounts for 30 to 60 percent of the changes reported in natural recovery studies (Sobell et al., 1993b).

Recognizing negative consequences and the harm or hurt one has inflicted on others or oneself helps motivate some people to change (Varney et al., 1995). Helping clients see the connection between substance use and adverse consequences to themselves or others is an important motivational strategy.

Positive and negative external incentives also can influence motivation. Supportive and empathic friends, rewards, or coercion of various types may stimulate motivation for change.

Motivation is influenced by the clinician's style

The way you, the clinician, interact with clients has a crucial impact on how they respond and whether treatment is successful. Researchers have found dramatic differences in rates of client dropout or completion among counselors in the same program who are ostensibly using the same techniques (Luborsky et al., 1985). Counselor style may be one of the most important, and most often ignored, variables for predicting client response to an intervention, accounting for more of the variance than client characteristics (Miller and Baca, 1983; Miller et al., 1993).

In a review of the literature on counselor characteristics associated with treatment effectiveness for substance users, researchers found that establishing a helping alliance and good interpersonal skills were more important than professional training or experience (Najavits and Weiss, 1994). The most desirable attributes for the counselor mirror those recommended in the general psychological literature and include nonpossessive warmth, friendliness, genuineness, respect, affirmation, and empathy.

A direct comparison of counselor styles suggested that a confrontational and directive approach may precipitate more immediate client resistance and, ultimately, poorer outcomes than a client-centered, supportive, and empathic style that uses reflective listening and gentle persuasion (Miller et al., 1993). In this study, the more a client was confronted, the more alcohol the client drank. Confrontational counseling in this study included challenging the client, disputing, refuting, and using sarcasm.

The clinician's task is to elicit and enhance motivation

Although change is the responsibility of the client and many people change their excessive substance-using behavior on their own without therapeutic intervention (Sobell et al., 1993b), you can enhance your client's motivation for beneficial change at each stage of the change process. Your task is not, however, one of simply teaching, instructing, or dispensing advice.

Rather, the clinician assists and encourages clients to recognize a problem behavior (e.g., by encouraging cognitive dissonance), to regard positive change to be in their best interest, to feel competent to change, to develop a plan for change, to begin taking action, and to continue using strategies that discourage a return to the problem behavior (Miller and Rollnick, 1991). Be sensitive to influences such as your client's cultural background; knowledge or lack thereof can influence your client's motivation.

Why Enhance Motivation?

Research has shown that motivation-enhancing approaches are associated with greater participation in treatment and positive treatment outcomes. Such outcomes include reductions in consumption, increased abstinence rates, social adjustment, and successful referrals to treatment (Landry, 1996; Miller et al., 1995a). A positive attitude toward change and a commitment to change are also associated with positive treatment outcomes (Miller and Tonigan, 1996; Prochaska and DiClemente, 1992).

The benefits of employing motivational enhancement techniques include

Inspiring motivation to change
Preparing clients to enter treatment
Engaging and retaining clients in treatment
Increasing participation and involvement
Improving treatment outcomes
Encouraging a rapid return to treatment if symptoms recur

Changing Perspectives on Addiction and Treatment

Americans have often shown ambivalence toward excessive drug and alcohol use. They have vacillated between viewing offenders as morally corrupt sinners who are the concern of the clergy and the law and seeing them as victims of compulsive craving who should receive medical treatment. After the passage of the Harrison Narcotics Act in 1914, physicians were imprisoned for treating addicts.

In the 1920s, compassionate treatment of opiate dependence and withdrawal was available in medical clinics, yet at the same time, equally passionate support of the temperance movement and Prohibition was gaining momentum. These conflicting views were further manifested in public notions of who deserved treatment (e.g., Midwestern farm wives addicted to laudanum) and who did not (e.g., urban African-Americans).

Different views about the nature and etiology of addiction have more recently influenced the development and practice of current treatments for substance abuse. Differing theoretical perspectives have guided the structure and organization of treatment and the services delivered (Institute of Medicine, 1990b). Comparing substance abuse treatment to a swinging pendulum, one writer noted, Notions of moral turpitude and incurability have been linked with problems of drug dependence for at least a century.

Even now, public and professional attitudes toward alcoholism are an amalgam of contrasting, sometimes seemingly irreconcilable views: The alcoholic is both sick and morally weak. The attitudes toward those who are dependent on opiates are a similar amalgam, with the element of moral defect in somewhat greater proportion (Jaffee, 1979, p. 9).

Evolving Models of Treatment

The development of a modern treatment system for substance abuse dates only from the late 1960s, with the decriminalization of public drunkenness and the escalation of fears about crime associated with increasing heroin addiction. Nonetheless, the system has rapidly evolved in response to new technologies, research, and changing theories of addiction with associated therapeutic interventions. The six models of addiction described below have competed for attention and guided the application of treatment strategies over the last 30 years.

Moral model

Addiction is viewed by some as a set of behaviors that violate religious, moral, or legal codes of conduct. From this perspective, addiction results from a freely chosen behavior that is immoral, perhaps sinful, and sometimes illegal. It assumes that individuals who choose to misuse substances create suffering for themselves and others and lack self-discipline and self-restraint. Substance misuse and abuse are irresponsible and intentional actions that deserve punishment (Wilbanks, 1989), including arrest and incarceration (Thombs, 1994). Because excessive substance use is seen as the result of a moral choice, change can only come about by an exercise of will power (IOM, 1990b), external punishment, or incarceration.

Medical model

A contrasting view of addiction as a chronic and progressive disease inspired what has come to be called the medical model of treatment, which evolved from earlier forms of disease models that stressed the need for humane treatment and hypothesized a dichotomy between "normals" and "addicts" or "alcoholics." The latter were asserted to differ qualitatively, physiologically, and irreversibly from normal individuals. More recent medical models take a broader "biopsychosocial" view, consonant with a modern understanding of chronic diseases as multiply determined.

Nevertheless, emphasis continues to be placed on physical causes. In this view, genetic factors increase the likelihood for an individual to misuse psychoactive substances or to lose control when using them. Neurochemical changes in the brain resulting from substance use then induce continuing consumption, as does the development of physiological dependence. Treatment in this model is typically delivered in a hospital or medical setting and includes various pharmacological therapies to assist detoxification, symptom reduction, aversion, or maintenance on suitable alternatives.

Responsibility for resolving the problem does not rest with the client, and change can come about only through acknowledging loss of control, adhering to medical prescriptions, and participating in a self-help group (IOM, 1990b).

Spiritual model

The spiritual model of addiction is one of the most influential in America, largely because of such 12-Step fellowships as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Cocaine Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and Al-Anon. This model is often confused with the moral and medical models, but its emphasis is quite distinct from these (Miller and Kurtz, 1994). In the original writings of AA, there is discussion of "defects of character" as central to understanding alcoholism, with particular emphasis on issues such as pride versus humility and resentment versus acceptance. In this view, substances are used in an attempt to fill a spiritual emptiness and meaninglessness.

Spiritual models give much less weight to etiology than to the importance of a spiritual path to recovery. Twelve-Step programs emphasize recognizing a Higher Power (often called God in AA) beyond one's self, asking for healing of character, maintaining communication with the Higher Power through prayer and meditation, and seeking to conform one's life to its will.

Twelve-Step programs are not wholly "self-help" programs but rather "Higher Power-help" programs. The first of the 12 steps is to recognize that one literally cannot help oneself or find recovery through the power of one's own will. Instead, the path back to health is spiritual, involving surrender of the will to a Higher Power. Clinicians follow various guidelines in supporting their clients' involvement in 12-Step programs (Tonigan et al., 1999).

Twelve-Step programs are rooted in American Protestantism, but other distinctly spiritual models do not rely on Christian or even theistic thought. Transcendental meditation, based on Eastern spiritual practice, has been widely practiced as a method for preventing and recovering from substance abuse problems (Marlatt and Kristeller, 1999). Native American spirituality has been integrated into treatment programs serving Native American populations through the use of sweat lodges and other traditional rituals, such as singing and healing ceremonies. Spiritual models all share a recognition of the limitations of the self and a desire to achieve health through a connection with that which transcends the individual.

Psychological model

In the psychological model of addiction, problematic substance use results from deficits in learning, emotional dysfunction, or psychopathology that can be treated by behaviorally or psychoanalytically oriented dynamic therapies. Sigmund Freud's pioneering work has had a deep and lasting effect on substance abuse treatment. He originated the notion of defense mechanisms (e.g., denial, projection, rationalization), focused on the importance of early childhood experiences, and developed the idea of the unconscious mind.

Early psychoanalysis viewed substance abuse disorders as originating from unconscious death wishes and self-destructive tendencies of the id (Thombs, 1994). Substance dependence was believed to be a slow form of suicide (Khantzian, 1980). Other early psychoanalytic writers emphasized the role of oral fixation in substance dependence.

A more contemporary psychoanalytic view is that substance use is a symptom of impaired ego functioning--a part of the personality that mediates the demands of the id and the realities of the external world. Another view considers substance abuse disorders as "both developmental and adaptive" (Khantzian et al., 1990).

From this perspective, the use of substances is an attempt to compensate for vulnerabilities in the ego structure. Substance use, then, is motivated by an inability to regulate one's inner life and external behavior. Thus, psychoanalytic treatment assumes that insight obtained through the treatment process results in the strengthening of internal mechanisms, which becomes evident by the establishment of external controls; in other words, the change process shifts from internal (intrapsychic) to external (behavioral, interpersonal).

An interesting psychoanalytic parallel to modern motivational theory is found in the writings of Anton Kris, who described the "conflicts of ambivalence" seen in clients that May cast a paralyzing inertia not only upon the patient but upon the treatment method. In such instances, patient and analyst, like the driver of an automobile stuck in a snowdrift, must aim at a rocking motion that eventually gathers enough momentum to permit movement in one direction or another (Kris, 1984, p. 224).

Other practitioners view addiction as a symptom of an underlying mental disorder. From this perspective, successful treatment of the primary psychiatric disorder should result in resolution of the substance use problem. However, over the past decade, substantial research and clinical attention have revealed a more complex relationship between psychiatric and substance abuse disorders and symptoms.

Specifically, substance use can cause psychiatric symptoms and mimic psychiatric disorders; substance use can prompt or worsen the severity of psychiatric disorders; substance use can mask psychiatric disorders and symptoms; withdrawal from severe substance dependence can precipitate psychiatric symptoms and mimic psychiatric disorders; psychiatric and substance abuse disorders can coexist; and psychiatric disorders can produce behaviors that mimic ones associated with substance use problems (CSAT, 1994b; Landry et al., 1991).

From the perspective of behavioral psychology, substance use is a learned behavior that is repeated in direct relation to the quality, number, and intensity of reinforcers that follow each episode of use (McAuliffe and Gordon, 1980). Addiction is based on the principle that people tend to repeat certain behaviors if they are reinforced for engaging in them.

Positive reinforcers of substance use depend on the substance used but include powerful effects on the central nervous system. Other social variables, such as peer group acceptance, can also act as positive reinforcers. Negative reinforcers include lessened anxiety and elimination of withdrawal symptoms. A person's experiences and expectations in relation to the effects of selected substances on certain emotions or situations will determine substance-using patterns.

Change comes about if the reinforcers are outweighed or replaced by negative consequences, also known as punishers, and the client learns to apply strategies for coping with situations that lead to substance use.

Other psychologists have emphasized the role of cognitive processes in addictive behavior. Bandura's concept of self-efficacy--the perceived ability to change or control one's own behavior--has been influential in modern conceptions of addiction (Bandura, 1997). Cognitive therapists have described treatment approaches for modifying pathogenic beliefs that may underlie substance abuse (Beck et al., 1993; Ellis and Velten, 1992).

Sociocultural model

A related, sociocultural perspective on addiction emphasizes the importance of socialization processes and the cultural milieu in developing--and ameliorating--substance abuse disorders. Factors that affect drinking behavior include socioeconomic status, cultural and ethnic beliefs, availability of substances, laws and penalties regulating substance use, the norms and rules of families and other social groups as well as parental and peer expectations, modeling of acceptable behaviors, and the presence or absence of reinforcers.

Because substance-related problems are seen as occurring in interactive relations with families, groups, and communities, alterations in policies, laws, and norms are part of the change process. Building new social and family relations, developing social competency and skills, and working within one's cultural infrastructure are important avenues for change in the sociocultural model (IOM, 1990b). From the sociocultural perspective, an often neglected aspect of positive behavioral change is sorting out ethical principles or renewing opportunities for spiritual growth that can ameliorate the guilt, shame, regret, and sadness about the substance-related harm clients may have inflicted on themselves and others.

Composite biopsychosocial-spiritual model

As the conflicts among these competing models of addiction have become evident and as research has confirmed some truth in each model, the addiction field has searched for a single construct to integrate these diverse perspectives (Wallace, 1990). This has led to an emerging biopsychosocial--spiritual framework that recognizes the importance of many interacting influences.

Indeed, the current view is that all chronic diseases, whether substance use, cancer, diabetes, or coronary artery disease, are best treated by collaborative and comprehensive approaches that address both biopsychosocial and spiritual components (Borysenko and Borysenko, 1995; Williams and Williams, 1994). This overarching model of addiction retains the proven elements and techniques of each of the preceding models while eliminating some previous--and erroneous--assumptions, which are discussed below.

Myths About Client Traits and Effective Counseling

Although the field is evolving toward a more comprehensive understanding of substance misuse and abuse, earlier views of addiction still persist in parts of our treatment system. Some of these are merely anachronisms; others may actually harm clients. Recent research has shown that some types of interventions that have been historically embedded within treatment approaches in the United States may paradoxically reduce motivation for beneficial change.

Other persisting stereotypes also interfere with the establishment of a helping alliance or partnership between the clinician and the client. Among the suppositions about clients and techniques that are being questioned and discarded are those discussed below.

Addiction stems from an addictive personality

Although it is commonly believed that substance abusers possess similar personality traits that make treatment difficult, no distinctive personality traits have been found to predict that an individual will develop a substance abuse disorder. The tendencies of an addictive personality most often cited are denial, projection, poor insight, and poor self-esteem. Research efforts, many of which have focused on clients with alcohol dependence, suggest there is no characteristic personality among substance-dependent individuals (Loberg and Miller, 1986; Miller, 1976; Vaillant, 1995).

Rather, research suggests that people with substance abuse problems reflect a broad range of personalities. Nonetheless, the existence of an addictive personality continues to be a popular belief. One reason for this may be that certain similarities of behavior, emotion, cognition, and family dynamics do tend to emerge along the course of a substance abuse disorder. In the course of recovery, these similarities diminish, and people again become more diverse.