Clinicians Practice Motivational Interviewing with an AI-Driven Virtual Client

Jack Grant is like a lot of others, working hard and trying to get ahead. He seems to be living the American dream. But like others, he’s feeling the stress of the job and of keeping up with his family responsibilities. He thinks cocaine is helping him. He is sure he has his use under control and can quit whenever he wants. When his wife learned he was using, she insisted that he see a counselor. Jack thinks about all the advantages of using but is less aware of all the problems it’s causing him. Motivational Interviewing (MI) can help him find his own reasons to stop using.

Jack is a fictional role-play character who behaves realistically. He is driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and fuzzy logic and was designed to help clinicians practice and build MI skills.

MI is an important tool that clinicians use to treat clients with substance use disorders. It’s designed to help clients find their own reasons to stop using. However, developing the skill to apply this tool requires extensive practice.

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Developing MI Skills

There are several ways to learn the MI concepts including books, workshops, or by using our free training. The difficult part is learning to apply these concepts in a clinical setting. Jack, the virtual role-player provides the needed practice opportunities. His behavior will vary but is always typical of real clients.

A Clinical Session with Jack

A simulated clinical session with Jack was designed to replicate a real encounter. As rapport is being built, Jack will respond by talking about all the reasons why he wants to continue using, but with the proper application of the MI tools, Jack will also begin to talk about all of the downsides. He will begin comparing the things he likes about using with the problems it’s causing him and may decide to stop using.

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The Simulation Technology Behind Jack

During a conversation with Jack, user’s select from a rich set of prompts. Each selected prompt typically has 5 to 20 available responses. Jack calculates probabilities for each response and uses them to randomly choose one. The calculations are based on one of his randomly selected personalities and the relationship the user has developed with him. He starts each session with ambivalence about using, and a tentative relationship with the user. The relationship between the user and Jack will evolve in a way that depends on what the user says.

A successful session will take about the same time as a session with a real client. In any one practice, less than 3% of the responses will be seen. Most of Jack’s responses will be different than in other sessions, providing a new experience with each practice.

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