Engaging Depressed Patients in Psychotherapy: Integrating Techniques From Motivational Interviewing and Ethnographic Interviewing to Improve Treatment Participation

Treatment dropouts and high "no show" rates are vexing problems for practicing psychologists and the populations they serve. This article describes a one-session intervention based on principles derived from motivational interviewing and ethnographic interviewing designed to improve depressed patients' participation in subsequent psychiatric treatment. The authors explain the rationale for developing an engagement intervention, describe the intervention itself, and present case vignettes based on a pilot study evaluating the feasibility and acceptability of administering the intervention to depressed mothers whose children suffer from psychiatric illness. The article includes strategies that may be implemented in clinical practice to improve patients' participation in treatment.