Motivational Interviewing with Staffordshire County Council, Sept 2025. “I would recommend this to anyone and everyone. Steven is absolutely brilliant.”

Greetings one and all,

I have been a very busy fellow during September and most of that time has been taken up with delivering training on, Motivational Interviewing, Trauma and Change, Respect and Inclusion and Compulsive Hoarding.  It has been an extremely rewarding month as I’ve met some absolutely wonderful people. 

To start us off, I’d like to highlight the folks at Staffordshire County Council who commissioned me to deliver Motivational Interviewing training across Staffordshire to all manner of professionals.  My course highlights several ways in which learners can encourage positive change behaviour and also practice the various Motivational Interviewing skills.  The course has always been super popular.  I encourage the learners to take part in all of the practical elements of the course.  These learners range from family support workers, social workers, staff from the Department of Work and Pensions, various head teachers and lots of safeguarding leads.  Plus, lots more!

Feedback from the 1^st of these sessions, way back at the start of September looked like this, and I think you can see that they were suitably impressed with my approach to the subject. 

On with the comments:

“Everything was amazing, very interactive, Steven knew his stuff.”

“I would recommend this to anyone and everyone. Steven is absolutely brilliant.”

“I really enjoyed it, it was very engaging. I think it makes a massive difference hearing from someone with lots of first-hand experience of using the techniques.”

“I want to develop my skills further. Steven is the best trainer, informative, knowledgeable,  relatable,  funny and blooming ace. Can't  wait  to do further training!”

“All was most valuable.”

“All really valuable and gave me food for thought.  I am very good at listening but advise rather than getting the customer to come to their own conclusions.  I feel this will really help me.”

“I appreciated the chance to try out the techniques it helped me think about what I was saying.”

“I think all topics were thoroughly thought out and great explanation and ways of use were given.”

“The different types of reflective responses with different examples were really helpful to look at.”

"Questioning tools/ Reflective responses, Summarising and asking if anything has been missed out most valuable.

I asked how the various learners would put their learning into practice and this is what they had to say in response:

“When working with our pupils and also the parents/carers we support. This is going to be super helpful when working with children and families who might not always like school or have negative experiences with schools.”

“The skills taught will enhance my ability to engage CYP in difficult conversations and support them in being motivated to make changes.”

"I will apply this learning by using motivational interviewing techniques to better understand the reasons behind students’ behaviours and to support them in identifying their own goals. This approach will help build trust, reduce resistance, and encourage positive change, especially for students with SEND who may display challenging behaviours."

“I think these skills will be beneficial to use with my families.”

“I will be able to apply this training in my every day work life whilst working with children and families. Especially when they feel let down or reluctant to open up and gain support and help.”

“I will apply my learning when speaking to families about their benefits , finances and debts.”

“When supporting adults and children I can apply the learning to my approach to help with a positive outcome.”

“Will give me the opportunity to change how I interact with customers each day.”

“Useful tools in encouraging change in young people, especially those unable to see they have the opportunity to make necessary changes.”

“In therapeutic practice when working with CYP and families, adapting my responses/knowing what to say when faced with resistance to change.”

“I will use open questions and more reflection and summarising.”