Exploring Motivational Interviewing in Group Therapy: A Conversation with Ali Hall & Kristin Dempsey
Please note: This webinar is not eligible for continuing education (CE) credit due to its informal, conversational format. Participants who attend the full live session will, however, receive a Certificate of Attendance.
This webinar is for professionals who use or support group therapy with justice-involved adult clients. This includes mental health professionals such as psychologists, therapists, and counselors. Correctional staff, probation/parole officers, and social workers involved in rehabilitation work will also benefit from this webinar. It is also appropriate for other helping professionals in abuse prevention, counseling, or related fields who want a better understanding of MI in group contexts.
Group therapy plays a central role in the treatment of justice-involved clients and related programs. Similarly, Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a treatment of choice for numerous conditions and is widely used in forensic settings. However, relatively little has been written about the most effective ways to integrate MI into group therapy.
Building on their training on this topic, Ali Hall and Kristin Dempsey return for a conversational session introducing their work in this area. In this webinar, they explore how MI principles can enhance group therapy practice by looking at:
- Therapeutic factors that make groups more effective
- How the stages of group treatment align with the core tasks of MI
Hall and Dempsey share insights on how familiarity with MI theory can provide structure and direction for group facilitation. They also address the real-world challenges that group therapists often face, such as managing conflict and engaging members who may feel ambivalent about participation.
Who's Presenting
Kristin Dempsey
Kristin Dempsey is a Bay Area psychotherapist, counselor educator and trainer. Kristin has over three decades of experience working in community mental health settings and public K-12 schools providing mental health and substance use education and treatment services. She currently supports individuals and families in her San Francisco and Burlingame private practice offices as well as through telehealth. Kristin is a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT), and she currently teaches motivational interviewing to behavioral health and other allied human services professionals. She is an adjunct professor at the Wright Institute’s Counseling Psychology Program and lecturing faculty at San Francisco State University. Kristin is the author of The Harm Reduction Workbook for Addiction (New Harbinger, 2024), co-author of Advancing Motivational Interviewing: An Experiential Skills Guide for Mental Health Professionals (PESI, April 2026), and a writer for The Mental Health and Substance Use Recovery Workbook (New Harbinger, May 2027).
Ali Hall
Ali Hall is a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT), a MINT Certified Trainer, and an independent consultant and trainer. Ali currently serves as a Director Emeritus from the MINT Board of Directors, focusing on professional skill development for MI practitioners and trainers. Ali served as a Lead Trainer and in supporting training teams for several MINT Trainings for New Trainers (TNTs). Ali is the co-developer of the Motivational Interviewing Competency Assessment (MICA), a coding and coaching tool for MI skill improvement, co-author of the book Motivational Interviewing for Mental Health Clinicians: A Toolkit for Skill Development (2021), developer of the Cultivating Hope activity deck (2025) and co-author of Advancing Motivational Interviewing: An Experiential Skills Guide for Mental Health Professionals (PESI, April 2026).