Ch-ch-ch-cha-CHANGES
The Stages of Change
Have you ever wondered how change happens?Have you ever wondered if your partner or family member is able to change, or ready to change? Have you ever felt ready for change but felt stuck? Then this blog is for YOU!
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Let’s explore change through the framework of Prochaska and DiClemente's Stages of Change Model…
This 6 stage model of intentional change makes use of a cyclical process that allows for you to make lasting changes. Behavior changes do not come easy or quickly and continuous time and effort is needed to be able to maintain change. You can’t help someone who doesn’t want to be helped; you can’t change someone who doesn’t want to change. It comes down to the individual and the stages help to see where one lies in the cycle so the therapist can successfully guide them. We jump around and go back and forth within these stages, change is not always linear!
What are these stages?
1. Pre-contemplation,2. Contemplation,
3. Preparation/determination,
4. Action,
5. Maintenance,
6. Relapse or slipping.
It is important to note that that relapse is part of the cycle and doesn’t mean you are back at square one! Just be aware how easy it can be to fall back into old habits. This doesn’t mean failure, it’s important to normalize the struggle of breaking a difficult behavior. It’s extremely common to relapse while attempting to break a vicious cycle, that’s why it’s important to reduce the shame felt and know that true change can be achieved if you keep trying and wanting to be different. -
1. Pre-Contemplation
When in this stage you won’t see your behaviors as problematic nor feel the need to change. You are most likely unaware of the negative consequences that your actions produce. You see little to no value in changing because you tend to focus more on the difficulties of change instead of the positive aspects. You might also have attempted change in the past and failed, now feeling that it simply won’t work. You may also be blissfully unaware! You can first determine if you in this stage by asking yourself “Are you thinking of making any changes within the next six months?” If no, welcome to pre-contemplation!
Research has found that the best way to grow in this stage is by increasing your awareness of the problem at hand. It’s necessary to develop your own reason for needing to change. Self-exploration is the key to truly looking at your actions and their impact on your life all while validating your own struggles and experiences in life and while trying to change. Being able to see how your actions do not align with your desired self is another powerful tool to initiate the desire for change.
Once you’ve started to see how behaviors are problematic and think it would be better to not behave in that way, the next stage is reached. Whoo hooo!
2. Contemplation
In this stage, you recognize that there is a problem and are contemplating changing but don’t know how the heck to go about changing it, and that is okay! The first step can be one of the hardest to take. You might know that smoking is bad and interferes with your life negatively, but are afraid you wouldn’t be able to quit or don’t want to feel the withdrawal symptoms. You’re stuck in your own head!
If you are saying, “I know this is an issue I want to change, but I just don’t know if I could or how I would”, you are in the contemplation stage.
It is okay to not feel completely confident in making a decision—its a hard thing to do! But the decisions are yours to make and no one else’s. Thinking about the pros and cons of changing is a good starting point, balancing both sides allows for you to not talk yourself out of changing. Figure out any sort of discrepancies that your thoughts and actions produce. Make sure you feel hopeful for the future, good things are coming if you go out and grab them.
Once the you decide you want to change and make an active effort to do so we can move onto the next stage.
3. Preparation/Determination
This stage is the beginning of a better future. Once you express that you want to begin making changes within the next 30 days and have taken small steps to do so you will begin to get closer and closer to a healthier life. Even if the little steps don’t work out like you wanted to it’s a great sign that you will find steps that work. Such as wanting to quit social media, so you start by logging in LESS…it’s not the end goal but it’s a start!
If you are saying, “I have to change if I want to be better” you are in this stage!
Praise yourself for wanting to change—it isn’t an easy feat! Encourage yourself on this road to being better and support self-efficacy. It is also important to set clear achievable goals and create a plan of action. Identify your support systems and start with small attainable goals, you don’t want to make it too difficult right away or they might give up. SMART goals are key!!
After making a plan with clear attainable goals you are ready for the next stage—action.
4. Action
This is when real changes will begin to emerge. In therapy, it usually takes about 12 weeks to get here, at a minimum. Remember lasting change takes time! This stage is characterized by making at least one behavioral change a day for no more than 180 days using the plan from the third stage. You are experiencing a lot of personal growth by making an active effort to choose new/better behaviors, develop new healthier skills and insights, and intend to keep moving forward to produce lasting change.
Statements that both acknowledge the problem and highlight new behaviors indicate being in this stage.
Support and verbal reinforcement are important during this difficult stage. Acknowledge the good that you are doing and the positive effects it brings to your life. Reiterate the long term benefits of change whenever you struggle to help encourage yourself. Strengthening your self-efficacy is key to dealing with various obstacles you will encounter so you know how to deal with them.
After about 6 months and seeing big differences in their life, you have reached the next stage. CONGRATS!!!!
5. Maintenance
This stage comes into light after about 6 months of consistent change and new behavior that you are committed to maintaining. It’s important to acknowledge the risk of relapse and take steps to actively avoid it, or get back on track when this happens.
Once you report that the problem is no longer present and are able to describe the steps you have done to achieve this and desire to maintain the new behavior you are considered to be in this stage. It can be easy to fall back into old temptations, but having a plan of action if those temptations arise will help to prevent relapse. It’s important to know that relapse is a possibility but also to know that you are in control.
6. Relapse
This stage is unofficial but important to be aware of. If you resume old behaviors instead of new, you are relapsing. You are also human if you do this. When someone relapses they feel defeated, they feel like all their work was for nothing—which is not true at all! Making it far enough to even relapse in the first place should be extremely proud of the effort you’ve put into bettering yourself. Ups and downs are all part of recovery, sometimes it might take a relapse to know what it feels like to fail so you never want to relapse again.
Finding the proper coping strategies that work to maintain change is essential. It’s possible the ones used prior weren’t enough and need to be reevaluated. Identify what triggered the relapse and what steps can be used to prevent it from happening again. Reassess the your motivations for change and any barriers that may be in your way. It is important to be resilient and treat yourself with the kindness you would give to any other struggling person. Don’t let a relapse continue, what matters more than the relapse, is that you get back on track! Don’t give up! This is part of the process. -
Change takes TIME and EFFORT! It is hard to make truly lasting changes. Being able to admit your faults and flaws takes a lot of guts and character. Seeing how your actions impact you and those around you and wanting to be better is something to be proud of. You can only meet someone as deeply as they’ve met themself, so it’s time to look deep within and discover the person you truly want to be.
References
https://sphweb.bumc.bu.edu/otlt/MPH-Modules/SB/BehavioralChangeTheories/BehavioralChangeTheories6.html
https://socialworkpodcast.blogspot.com/2009/10/prochaska-and-diclementes-stages-of.html#:~:text=%5BEpisode%2053%5D%20Today's%20podcast%20is,preparation%2C%20action%2C%20and%20maintenance.
http://stepupprogram.org/docs/handouts/STEPUP_Stages_of_Change.pdf
https://tnchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Stages-of-Change.pdf