UND sponsoring ‘Motivational Interviewing’ training in Billings, Mont., May 25-26

Two-day session, hosted and sponsored by UND, to focus on collaborative counseling for those serving tribal populations

The University of North Dakota is hosting and sponsoring a two-day training session in Montana for mental health professionals serving tribal entities.

On Wednesday and Thursday, May 25 and 26, the sessions will focus on “Motivational Interviewing.” The sessions will be hosted at New Day Ranch in Billings, Mont., from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. MT.

The training will be delivered by a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers, Scott Nyegaard, CEO and founder of Legacy Group, LLC, an agency specializing in evidence-based trainings. Certificates of attendance will be provided for attending both days of training.

Motivational Interviewing is a counseling approach designed to help people find the motivation to make a positive behavior change. The practice focuses on collaboration between a counselor and client to evoke motivation and autonomy to seek recovery through open-ended questions, affirmations and reflective listening.

According to Thomasine Heitkamp, behavior health research developer at UND and retired Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor, the training is sponsored by UND through a partnership between UND’s Division of Research & Economic Development and the State of Montana. The purpose is to provide resources addressing suicide based on the Zero Suicide model.

Foundational to Zero Suicide is the idea that suicide death for individuals under the care of health and behavioral health systems is preventable, according to the Education Development Center.

“We are offering Motivational Interviewing training at the request of the tribes in Montana with a focus on their needs,” Heitkamp said. “The goal is to provide as many supports and resources to assist providers in serving their patients as possible, including screening and supporting access to treatment and referrals to care.”

UND staff working with these efforts, in the Division of Research & Economic Development, include Heitkamp and Sherry Zeman, pre-award officer.

Funding for the training is provided by Zero Suicide Montana at the Center for Children, Families and Workforce Development at the University of Montana.

For questions, please contact sherry.zeman@und.edu. Registration for the event is available online.

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