Laura A. Saunders, MSSW is with the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and an independent consultant. Since 2001, Laura has designed, facilitated, and delivered training and coaching in person, online, and via distance learning in the fields of health care, human services, public health, and criminal justice. Laura’s online courses are being taught through Brown University and the University of Wisconsin- Madison. She has provided feedback and coaching to hundreds of learners who are interested in using MI to fidelity. Laura has also conducted train the trainer events. She joined the International group of Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT) in 2006.
My stumble into MI as a part of a research project several decades ago changed the trajectory of my whole life. I had no idea that those first experiences in using MI to help people consider whether or not to cut down on or quit using alcohol were going to be so influential. I went from an MI user to a MI supervisor to MI trainer. Now I can't imagine my life without MI as a major guiding force. I love sharing my passion for MI with others- from assisting with agency wide implementation and training to providing feedback and coaching of practice samples to individuals. I'm always glad to chat about how MI might be useful to you.