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    Spirit of motivational interviewing

    动机式访谈的精神

    Concept
    Also called
    MI spirit, spirit of MI, PACE, absolute worth, autonomy support

    What is the spirit of motivational interviewing?

    The spirit of motivational interviewing is the mind-set and heart-set a helper brings to the work. The third edition names four interrelated elements: partnership, acceptance, compassion, and evocation.[1] The 2023 fourth edition keeps the first three and replaces evocation with empowerment.[2]

    The elements intersect; position implies no order

    Four aspects of acceptance (third edition)

    Third edition (2013): partnership, acceptance, compassion, evocation. Fourth edition (2023): empowerment replaces evocation and takes in autonomy support; evoking remains one of the four tasks.

    Select a part for details, or switch editions.
    Schematic. Four elements surround the spirit at the center and overlap; their positions imply no order. Below are the four aspects of acceptance in the third edition. Switch editions to see the fourth edition’s changes: empowerment replaces evocation and takes in autonomy support. Select a part for details. Select a part for details
    Schematic. Four elements surround the spirit at the center and overlap; their positions imply no order. Below are the four aspects of acceptance in the third edition. Switch editions to see the fourth edition’s changes: empowerment replaces evocation and takes in autonomy support. Select a part for details. Save as image (PNG)

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    Key points

    • Acceptance is not approval. It has four aspects: absolute worth, accurate empathy, autonomy support, and affirmation. Their opposites are judging, imposing your own view, coercing, and hunting for what is wrong.[1]
    • Compassion was added in the third edition because the other three can serve self-interest; a skilled salesperson uses them too. Compassion means giving priority to the other person’s welfare.[1]
    • Fourth-edition empowerment keeps evocation’s premise, that people already hold much of what change requires and the helper’s task is to draw it out, and now includes autonomy support.[1][2]
    • The widely used MITI 4 rates a 20-minute recording on Partnership, Empathy, and two technical scales, each scored 1 to 5; Partnership and Empathy average into a relational score.[3]

    An example

    Jay says he often drinks too much on weekends. Rather than listing the harms, his counselor asks what he makes of it (evocation). Hearing he wants more time with his daughter, she reflects that wish (empathy) and notes he skipped a night out last week (affirmation). Then: “Whether and how to change is up to you” (autonomy support).

    Misreadings and limits

    The elements are often taught as ordered steps. Miller and Rollnick describe them as interrelated elements that intersect, and as habits that practicing MI itself builds rather than prerequisites.[1][2] The popular PACE acronym is a memory aid from other authors.[4]

    Sources

    1. 1 Miller, W. R., & Rollnick, S. (2013). Motivational interviewing: Helping people change (3rd ed.). Guilford Press. View source
    2. 2 Miller, W. R., & Rollnick, S. (2023). Motivational interviewing: Helping people change and grow (4th ed.). Guilford Press. View source
    3. 3 Moyers, T. B., Rowell, L. N., Manuel, J. K., Ernst, D., & Houck, J. M. (2016). The Motivational Interviewing Treatment Integrity Code (MITI 4): Rationale, preliminary reliability and validity. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 65, 36–42. doi:10.1016/j.jsat.2016.01.001
    4. 4 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2019). Enhancing motivation for change in substance use disorder treatment (Treatment Improvement Protocol [TIP] Series No. 35). SAMHSA Publication No. PEP19-02-01-003. View source

    Last checked against sources: October 27, 2026