Working the Difference

"Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a therapeutic practice that employs a "conversational style" to effect change in clients or, more precisely, to encourage ambivalent clients to talk themselves into change. Originally developed to treat problem drinkers, MI has spread dramatically across a wide variety of professional fields including psychology, dentistry, education, nutrition, and corrections. In Working the Difference, E. Summerson Carr uses MI to explore how cultural forms, particularly forms of expertise, are constituted and circulated. The result is a compelling analysis of the profoundly American preoccupations at the heart of this practice--from democratic ideals of autonomy and freedom of speech to Protestant ethical commitments and the core principles of American Pragmatism."--