Motivational interviewing refers to a counseling approach initially eveloped by clinical psychologists Professor William R Miller, Ph.D. and Professor Stephen Rollnick, Ph.D. It recognizes and accepts the fact that clients who need to make changes in their lives approach counseling at different levels of readiness to change their behavior. If the counseling is mandated, they may never have thought of changing the behavior in question. Some may have thought about it but not taken steps to change it. Others, especially those voluntarily seeking counseling, may be actively trying to change their behavior and may have been doing so unsuccessfully for years.