What is MiiWrap?

  MiiWrap (Motivational Interviewing Informed Wraparound) is an evidenced-based practice for working with youth and families with multiple and complex needs. This process uses communication skills to build Engagement, Motivation and Self-Efficacy and structured activities, to support and guide the families toward their own visions of a better future. The skills and activities guide them through behavior change while concurrently helping them become more effective guides for their own lives after MiiWrap ends. MiiWrap is based on a Mindset and set of Principles that combine our way of thinking about and being with the youth and family in a collaborative working partnership and define our role in guiding them to successful and sustainable behavior change.  MiiWrap is a team-supported process, involving people the youth and family or family select to help them plan, implement and sustain behavior change. The MiiWrap process includes:

• A Mindset and set of Principles
• Relational Skills to improve Engagement and the Collaborative Partnership
• Behavior Change Skills to elicit and strengthen Motivation and Self-Efficacy
• Phases and Activities which structure the process

The MiiWrap process strives to engage the youth and family, elicit Motivation and Self-Efficacy, and support plan development by:

• Engaging youth and families in the process
• Building collaborative working partnerships
• Developing empathy to guide youth and families to “discover” their own focus for behavior change
• Strengthening self-Motivation and Self-Efficacy to make the change
• Using team-supported change activities to support plan development, implementation and positive behavior changes

Concurrently, MiiWrap staff support strengthening confidence and transition assets so that the youth and family can become their own guide once MiiWrap ends. MiiWrap staff use communication skills and activities to build a Collaborative Partnership with the youth and family, based on empathy, compassion, respect, and trust. The staff actively listen to and engage the youth and family in dialogue to understand their values, needs, culture and strengths across areas of their life, and use this information to develop a more genuine understanding and acceptance of who the person is, their vision for the future and their priorities for behavior change. Behavior change comes from the youth and family’s own Self-Motivation and Self-Efficacy and these are initially signaled through Change Talk. Approaches used by MiiWrap staff include:

• Utilizing an evoking style to strengthen Change Talk, which signals Self-Motivation to make behavior changes, to address the needs the youth and family have identified
• Helping the family to identify their strengths to build self-efficacy, which increases Motivation, strengths and culture to individualize the plan
• Assisting the family to identify and engage the people in their lives who can help them successfully plan and implement the identified change
• Mentoring the family to learn and adopt an effective team-supported planning and implementation process that is at the heart of the MiiWrap Mindset.