Course Description

Motivational Interviewing (MI). MI provides a strategic framework for building relationships through active communication approaches and strategies. These approaches and strategies serve as a guide for how we structure our interactions with clients and guide how we set up programming.


This training will explore how people move through the stages of change and how MI implementation helps people move from contemplating a change to finding motivation for action.

Matt Bennett

President, Optimal Innovation Group

Matt Bennett, MBA, MA, is a relentless advocate for trauma-informed care and other interventions that help people and communities heal. His passion manifests in his books Connecting Paradigms, Talking about Trauma & Change, Heart Variability, and Trauma-Sensitive Early Education as well as his Trauma-Informed Lens and Heart Rate Variability Podcasts. Mr. Bennett combines his masters’ degrees in community psychology and executive development/nonprofit management and business administration with his practical experience as a therapist and leader to develop research-based solutions to improve the health of individuals, staff, organizations, and systems. As a sought-after trainer, Mr. Bennett utilizes a participant-centered approach, which includes interactions and adult learning activities to maximize learning, retention, and application. Mr. Bennett’s presentations are a dynamic dance of innovative research, practical applications, and a passion for the art and science of helping others.