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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2009 Sep;37(2):191-202.
doi: 10.1016/j.jsat.2009.01.003. Epub 2009 Mar 31.

Agency context and tailored training in technology transfer: a pilot evaluation of motivational interviewing training for community counselors

John S Baer  1 , Elizabeth A Wells, David B Rosengren, Bryan Hartzler, Blair Beadnell, Chris Dunn
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Agency context and tailored training in technology transfer: a pilot evaluation of motivational interviewing training for community counselors

John S Baer et al. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2009 Sep.

Abstract

Few empirical studies are available to guide best practices for transferring evidenced-based treatments to community substance abuse providers. To maximize the learning and maintenance of new clinical skills, this study tested a context-tailored training (CTT) model, which used standardized patient actors in role-plays tailored to agency clinical context, repetitive cycles of practice and feedback, and enhanced organizational support. This study reports the results of a randomized pilot evaluation of CTT for motivational interviewing (MI). Investigators randomly assigned community substance abuse treatment agencies to receive either CTT or a standard 2-day MI workshop. The study also evaluated the effects of counselor-level and organizational-level variables on the learning of MI. No between-condition differences were observed on the acquisition and maintenance of MI skills despite reported higher satisfaction with the more costly context-tailored model. Analyses revealed that those counselors with more formal education and less endorsement of a disease model of addiction made the greatest gains in MI skills, irrespective of training condition. Similarly, agencies whose individual counselors viewed their organization as being more open to change and less supportive of autonomy showed greater average staff gains in MI skills, again, irrespective of training method. Posttraining activities within agencies that supported the ongoing learning and implementation of MI mediated the effects of organizational openness to change. This pilot study suggests that tailored training methods may not produce better outcomes than traditional workshops for the acquisition of evidence-based practice, and that efforts to enhance skill acquisition can be focused on characteristics of learners and ongoing organizational support of learning.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
MI Spirit across baseline, post-training and follow-up for CTT vs. workshop
Figure 2
Figure 2
Reflection/question ratio across baseline, post-training and follow-up for CTT vs. workshop
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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