title: Toward systematic integration between self-determination theory and motivational interviewing as examples of top-down and bottom-up intervention development: autonomy or volition as a fundamental theoretical principle.
abstract: Clinical interventions can be developed through two distinct pathways. In the first, which we call top-down, a well-articulated theory drives the development of the intervention, whereas in the case of a bottom-up approach, clinical experience, more so than a dedicated theoretical perspective, drives the intervention. Using this dialectic, this paper discusses Self-Determination Theory (SDT) 12 and Motivational Interviewing (MI) 3 as prototypical examples of a top-down and bottom-up approaches, respectively. We sketch the different starting points, foci and developmental processes of SDT and MI, but equally note the complementary character and the potential for systematic integration between both approaches. Nevertheless, for a deeper integration to take place, we contend that MI researchers might want to embrace autonomy as a fundamental basic process underlying therapeutic change and we discuss the advantages of doing so.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium. Maarten.Vansteenkiste@ugent.be
authors.forename: Maarten
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vansteenkiste
authors.forename: Geoffrey C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Resnicow
mesh_terms: D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D009042:Motivation; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D011582:Psychological Theory; D014836:Volition