Motivational interviewing: Key ingredients associated with taking a step toward employment.

This study sought to identify key ingredients of motivational interviewing (MI) associated with taking a step in the direction of competitive employment (CE) for unemployed veterans with serious mental illness (SMI). Data were analyzed from 195 audiotaped MI sessions targeted to employment conducted with 39 veterans with SMI. Sessions were coded and analyzed to identify components of MI practice predictive of taking any step in the direction of CE (e.