Tessa Bechtold-Brown, LMHC
For Tessa Bechtold-Brown, motivational interviewing began with a two-day introductory training. What stayed with her was not simply a new technique but a path for the way she already wanted to work alongside her clients.
In this episode, Bechtold-Brown describes how a career built through a series of authentic choices led her to recognize something missing in her region: a clinical space centered around celebrating and practicing motivational interviewing. So, she built one. Bechtold-Brown explains what it means to bring the spirit of MI beyond individual client sessions and into the relationships, supervision and culture of an organization.
Bechtold-Brown discusses how autonomy support can work with people mandated to treatment through drug court, mental health court and probation, what clients experience when practitioners move away from prescribing and advising, and why grief and loss may call for less guiding and more following. Throughout the conversation, Bechtold-Brown returns to a question that guides both her supervision and clinical practice: Who is this for?
Tessa Bechtold-Brown, LMHC, is a mental health counselor and the founder of Motivational Counseling, a Western New York clinical practice centered around motivational interviewing. Her work focuses on creating spaces where clients and clinicians can experience the principles of MI not simply as a clinical method but as a way of being with one another. Through her clinical practice and supervision, she explores how autonomy, listening and the spirit of MI can shape both therapeutic relationships and organizational culture.
Show Notes
Cite this podcast – Lee, J, & Sage, T. (Hosts). (2026, September 15). Why Motivational Interviewing Matters Beyond the Therapy Room. (No. 352) [Audio podcast episode]. In inSocialWork. University at Buffalo School of Social Work.
