Ryan D'Ambrosio, MA, Katherine E. Laws, BA, and Roy M. Gabriel, PhD. RMC Research Corporation, 522 SW Fifth Ave, Suite 1407, Portland, OR 97204-2131, (503) 223-8248, ryan_dambrosio@rmccorp.com

The Oregon Practice Improvement Collaborative (OPIC) facilitated Knowledge Adoption Studies (KAS) through partnerships between substance abuse treatment practitioners and researchers. One such KAS instigated in Oregon was to examine the process of science-based practice adoption by substance abuse treatment practitioners. Through this KAS the OPIC facilitated the implementation of motivational interviewing in two community-based substance abuse treatment agencies. The KAS research team employed the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment’s The Change Book: A Blue Print for Technology Transfer to support and evaluate the implementation of MI. Behavior change, whether it is the reduction of substance use for patients in substance abuse treatment or treatment clinicians changing their clinical practice, is not always welcome. MI is a person-centered communication approach that attempts to engage and motivate individuals in any setting to change their behavior or way of doing things. But decisions made to change practices and adopt science-based strategies happen at the level of funders and managers of treatment agencies usually without the engagement and motivation of the clinical staff. Should counselors be expected to be client-centered when treatment agencies are not counselor-centered and funders and researchers are not treatment agency-centered? This paper presents the results and lessons learned from the KAS including how the MI approach may be just as applicable to facilitating organizational change as it is to facilitating individual behavioral change, and integrated with The Change Book framework could provide the core strategies for assisting treatment agencies in adopting science-based practices and navigating organizational change.

Learning Objectives: After the session, a participant should be able to

• Understand and discuss the key issues and challenges that emerge when undertaking organizational change processes within community-based organizations.
• Learn about and identify tools and strategies that can be used when implementing new practices within community-based organizations or otherwise trying to create organizational change.
• Learn insights from the Oregon PIC from it's attempts to help community-based treatment providers implement Motivational Interviewing within their programs.

Keywords: Substance Abuse Treatment, Evidence Based Practice

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.