Motivational interview as a tool of psychological support for parents raising children with disabilities

The issue of psychological support for families raising a child with a disability is gaining increasing importance. However, there is a lack of modern and effective methods capable of fostering positive motivational attitudes in parents toward engaging correctional and developmental work with their child.

Objective. To assess the motivational attitudes of parents raising children with disabilities toward engaging in correctional and developmental work with their child in home rehabilitation settings and to determine the possibility of correcting these attitudes through motivational interviews.

Materials and methods. The study was conducted at the Center for Child Psychoneurology of the Research Institute of Childhood (Russia). From July to December 2025, 62 parents of children with disabilities participated in the study. Their children, aged 7–13 years, were patients of the neuropsychiatric departments. At the first stage of the study, the methods of observation and interview were applied. At the second stage, the methods of observation and motivational interview were used.

Results. The conducted study revealed a low level of parents’ motivational attitudes toward engaging in correctional and developmental work with their children with disabilities in home rehabilitation setting. The possibility of forming positive motivation through motivational interviews was confirmed.

Conclusion. The low level of parental motivation to engage in work with children with disabilities inevitably affects the quality of correctional, developmental, and rehabilitation measures. Therefore, such parents require high-quality psychological support from specialists aimed at fostering positive motivation to work with their children. Motivational interviewing can be considered an effective form of psychological support for parents of children with disabilities in terms of reducing stress and identifying internal resources. The findings can be used when developing effective strategies for correctional, developmental, and rehabilitation work.

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