Get Your Money Back On Track

Design MI-Adherent Financial Education Training Programs

We design MI-adherent financial education and empowerment programs grounded in the full framework of Motivational Interviewing—its spirit (partnership, acceptance, compassion, and empowerment), its core skills (OARS), the four processes (engaging, focusing, evoking, and planning), and the evidence-based strategies that help practitioners work with ambivalence and strengthen intrinsic motivation for change.

 Each program is fully customized to your organization’s context, goals, and service population.

The design process typically includes:

• Needs assessment (review of existing materials, staff capacity, client needs, and cultural considerations)
• Learning objectives aligned with MI principles and desired financial empowerment outcomes
• Curriculum and session structure design including modules, pacing, and recommended delivery format
• Facilitator guide development with detailed notes, step-by-step instructions, and MI-consistent scripts and conversation prompts
• Participant materials such as worksheets, handouts, guided reflections, and practice activities
• Integration of MI strategies such as eliciting and strengthening change talk, responding to ambivalence, avoiding the righting reflex, and supporting autonomy
• Evaluation tools (simple assessments or feedback forms to help your team measure learning and behavioral shifts)
• Optional train-the-trainer sessions to prepare your staff to deliver the program effectively and consistently

The final output equips your team with a complete, ready-to-deliver, culturally grounded, trauma-informed program designed to help facilitators engage participants in a way the support supporting meaningful and lasting financial behavior change.

Capacity Building & Facilitator Training in MI for Financial Empowerment

We train practitioners and facilitators to apply Motivational Interviewing (MI) within financial empowerment programs. Participants develop core MI competencies along with an understanding of the sociocultural, behavioral, and psychological factors that influence how people make financial decisions.

This may include examples like shame related to debt, expectations to support family, collective decision-making, or the importance of social status—but these vary widely across cultures and communities. Practitioners learn to use both MI skills and this cultural understanding when guiding conversations on budgeting, saving, debt, spending, financial counseling, and other money-related topics.

 The training also helps practitioners recognize when clients feel unsure, overwhelmed, or “stuck,” and shows them how to use MI strategies to explore ambivalence and support clients in making their own financial decisions. Through guided practice, participants build confidence in using MI-consistent, respectful, and autonomy-supportive language instead of advice-giving or persuasion that may create resistance.

By the end of the training, staff are prepared to facilitate financial conversations that build trust, honor cultural context, and support meaningful, lasting behavior change.

.Training Levels

Beginner Level — Foundations of MI for Financial Empowerment

Participants learn to:

• Apply the spirit of MI in financial conversations
• Use OARS to build rapport and reduce shame around money
• Recognize and respond to common financial ambivalence (e.g., “I want to save but…”)
• Identify change talk vs. sustain talk
• Avoid directive or corrective approaches that can distance clients

 Intermediate Level — Strengthening MI Financial Practice

Participants learn to:

• Use the four MI processes (engaging, focusing, evoking, planning) in financial discussions
• Strengthen change talk using DARN–CAT frameworks
• Apply complex and double-sided reflections strategically
• Navigate resistance around budgeting, debt, and spending
• Connect financial goals to clients’ personal values and motivations

Advanced Level — Applied MI for Financial Conversations (Skills Practice & Integration)

Participants learn to:

• Conduct MI-aligned coaching sessions on budgeting, saving, debt, and money habits
• Support clients experiencing shame, fear, overwhelm, or financial stress
• Respond effectively to statements like “Budgeting never works for me” or “My family obligations make saving impossible”
• Facilitate structured MI conversations from start to finish
• Help clients move from intention to action using advanced MI strategies
• Strengthen MI fidelity through feedback, practice, and refinement

Customized Organization Training

We design and deliver customized training programs based on your organization’s goals, service model, and the communities you serve. Each training is developed in close collaboration with your team so that examples, activities, and skills practice reflect your real-world context—whether you work in social and human services, education, community development, financial empowerment, health programs, or leadership and management roles.

Our customization process typically includes:

• Discovery and consultation to understand your objectives, staff roles, workflows, and cultural considerations

• Training design tailored to your program model, delivery format, and desired outcomes

• Content adaptation using your organization’s language, case examples, and client scenarios

• Facilitator guidance with prompts, scripts, and delivery notes to support consistent implementation

• Interactive practice through role-plays, case discussions, and scenario-based skills labs

• Application planning to help your team integrate new skills into day-to-day practice

• Optional follow-up support (coaching, refresher sessions, supervision support, or train-the-trainer)

Customized trainings can be designed around topics such as:

• Motivational Interviewing (MI) – Beginner Level
  Introduction to the spirit of MI (partnership, acceptance, compassion, evocation), OARS core skills (open questions, affirmations, reflections, summaries), and foundational communication strategies that support client engagement.  

• Motivational Interviewing (MI) – Intermediate Level
  Application of the four MI processes (engaging, focusing, evoking, planning), recognizing and eliciting change talk, responding to ambivalence, and strengthening MI-consistent language in real conversations. 

• Motivational Interviewing (MI) – Advanced Level
  Advanced practice with complex reflections and strategic evocation, working skillfully with sustain talk and discord, and building MI fidelity through feedback, supervision, and intentional skills refinement. 

Trainings can be delivered in-person or live virtual, depending on your organization’s needs and location.

This customized approach strengthens your team’s capacity to deliver services with clarity, cultural responsiveness, and confidence—supporting better outcomes for the people and communities you serve.