UNODC Iran Holds Training Workshop on Motivational Interviewing
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The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Iran held a training workshop on motivational interviewing from 21 to 23 October 2019. Through participation of experts from the Islamic Republic of Iran Drug Control Headquarters, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, and Social Welfare Organization, as well as drop-in centers and universities, the training workshop brought together clinicians, experts, and policymakers from various institutional backgrounds to familiarize them with the counseling method of motivational interviewing.
The workshop was implemented as part of the UNODC Country Partnership Programme's Sub Programme 3 on "Drug Use Prevention, Treatment, Rehabilitation, and HIV Care." The specific section of the Sub Programme that the workshop fell into aims at improving technical capacities for the provision of evidence-based drug use disorder treatments and is assisted by funding from the Government of the Kingdom of Sweden.
Mr. Alexander Fedulov, UNODC Iran Country Representative, began the three-day event with an introduction that underscored the need for further interventions for drug use disorders in Iran and gave a background on motivational interviewing. Introductory remarks were also made by Mr. Carl Magnus Nilsson, Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Sweden in Tehran; Mr. Hamid Jomehpour, Director General of the Treatment and Social Support Office of Drug Control Headquarters; and Dr. Gelareh Mostashari, Drug Demand Reduction Senior Expert of the UNODC Iran Country Office. The workshop was led by Dr. Setareh Mohsenifar, a psychiatrist and former Officer of the UNODC Iran Country Office. Dr. Mohsenifar is a certified Treatnet Volume B trainer who was trained at UNODC Headquarters in Vienna, Austria.
The workshop represented one section of the UNODC's Treatnet Training Package (TTP), which is a central component of UNODC's Treatnet initiative, aimed at increasing the level of knowledge and skills of substance abuse practitioners around the world. TTP is a comprehensive set of tools and resources made to inform governments, organizations, and individuals on ethical and evidenced-based drug treatment policies and practices. It was developed in 2008 by an international consortium of clinical experts, researchers, and trainers led by the Integrated Substance Abuse Program of the University of California Los Angeles and was further updated and expanded in 2015.
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The specific part of TTP covered in the workshop was Module 2 of Volume B. The topic of this module is motivational interviewing, a counselling method that addresses the resistance and insecurities that prevent clients from making positive changes in their lives. Having as its goal the inspiration of internal motivation in clients, motivational interviewing is unlike counselling methods that are limited to the undirected exploration of the experiences, beliefs, and feelings of clients. Besides its use in drug treatment therapy, motivational interviewing has also been used in the treatment of chronic illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease.