Eileen Britt

Eileen Frances Britt is a New Zealand academic psychologist, and is a full professor at the University of Canterbury, specialising in motivational interviewing.

Academic career
Britt's father was an art teacher, who created murals in collaboration with Māori, including one at the University of Canterbury. Britt says she learned the value of partnership in education from her father. Britt completed a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Canterbury, which she followed with a Master of Social Science at the University of Waikato, with a thesis titled Solvent abuse in New Zealand: Descriptive data. Britt then completed a PhD titled Enhancing Diabetes Self-Management: Motivational Enhancement Therapy at the University of Canterbury. She also has a postgraduate diploma in clinical psychology and a diploma in te reo Māori. Britt practised as a psychologist for fifteen years, before joining the faculty of the University of Canterbury as a clinical educator in psychology in 1999. She was promoted to full professor within the School of Psychology, Speech and Hearing in 2024.

Britt's research focuses on motivational interviewing, a psychological technique which uses "strengths-based guided conversation". Britt partnered with Work and Income New Zealand over 11-years to introduce motivational interviewing techniques for staff working with unemployed people, and has also taught engineering lecturers to use the technique. Britt has researched the use of motivational interviewing in sports coaching, treatment of eating disorders, and in services working with violent offenders.

Honours and awards
In 2022 Britt was awarded the Te Whatu Kairangi award, a national teaching award for tertiary educators.