Professor Lee’s Book on Motivational Interviewing Wins National Award from the American Journal of Nursing 

The American Journal of Nursing’s annual book awards –one of the most respected honors in nursing and healthcare publishing – has awarded first place to “Motivational Interviewing Across Cultures,” authored by Professor Christina Lee from BU School of Social Work (BUSSW) in the Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing category. The annual awards recognize books that make an exceptional contribution to nursing and clinical care. 

“Motivational Interviewing Across Cultures” introduces culturally adapted motivational interviewing (CAMI), offering practical guidance on how to ask about culture without stereotyping, and how to explore experiences of stigma and discrimination in ways that enhance motivation to change. The book emphasizes MI’s humanistic roots by prioritizing client autonomy and understanding individuals as whole people, rather than as problems to be fixed.  

Professor Lee illustrates how CAMI optimizes MI by integrating culture into the clinical conversation – an approach that can meaningfully improve client engagement and outcomes.  The book includes sample clinical dialogue demonstrating how core MI processes: engaging, focusing, evoking, and planning are optimized, along with practical tips and insight into the scholarly foundations of the approach.  

This work has been shared with practitioners across disciplines through webinars hosted by the Motivational Interviewing Center for Change and invited continuing education talks at institutions including the University of North Carolina School of Social Work and Columbia University School of Social Work. Dr. Lee also writes an invited blog for Psychology Today called, “Connecting Across Divides: Building Therapeutic Bridges in a Fractured World”. 

Learn More About Professor Christina Lee’s Research