Cochrane: Motivational
interviewing or its variants are widely used to help people stop
smoking. It is a counselling technique for helping people to explore and
resolve their uncertainties about changing their behaviour. It seeks to
avoid an aggressive or confrontational approach. It tries to steer
people towards choosing to change their behaviour, and to encourage
their self-belief.
Our review found that motivational interviewing seems to be effective when given by general practitioners and by trained counsellors. Longer sessions (more than 20 minutes per session) were more effective than shorter ones. Two or more sessions of treatment appeared to be marginally more successful than a single session treatment, but both delivered successful outcomes. The evidence for the value of follow-up telephone support was unclear. Our results should be interpreted with caution, due to variations in how the treatment was delivered, what it included and the completeness of the evidence.
Our review found that motivational interviewing seems to be effective when given by general practitioners and by trained counsellors. Longer sessions (more than 20 minutes per session) were more effective than shorter ones. Two or more sessions of treatment appeared to be marginally more successful than a single session treatment, but both delivered successful outcomes. The evidence for the value of follow-up telephone support was unclear. Our results should be interpreted with caution, due to variations in how the treatment was delivered, what it included and the completeness of the evidence.
Authors' conclusions:
Motivational interviewing may assist smokers to quit. However, the results should be interpreted with caution due to variations in study quality, treatment fidelity and the possibility of publication or selective reporting bias.