- Model originally used to help illustrate people changing health patterns.
- There are 5 stages of change
General Aspects
- People move between stages
- Decisional Balance, do positives outweigh negatives
- Self efficacy - is person competent and able
- 10 processes of changed that can make change more likely
Pre-contemplation “Not Ready”
- Encouraged to think about positives and negatives of current behaviour
- People often down and defensive
What you can do
- ?
Contemplation
- Plan to change in next few months but may not do anything for up to two years
- Person has intention to behave in a new way
- May still try to avoid action
- Has the thought but is unlikely to act
What you can do
- To support, help them appreciate the positives of the new behavior
- Help person by reducing negatives associated with behaviour change
Preparation
- Individual is ready to engage in action in the next 30 days
- Person takes gradual steps to fit the change into their life
- Possible that they are doing small things to start
- Might tell others that they want to change
- Do they feel competent to do the behaviour
- Progress is increased if they have a plan of action
What you can do
- Help them have a plan of action
Action
- Person has initiated behavior change in the last few months
- Person needs to work hard to keep behaviour part of their life
- Strengthening persons commitment to behaviour helps person not slip back down
What you can do
- Help them learn techniques to enhance commitments, i.e. Acknowledging steps they have taken, avoiding people or situations that would cause regression
Maintenance
- Person has changed behaviour several months ago
- Encouraged to share experiences and seek support from others
- Important to have an awareness of potential situations that could cause slippage
- When facing an obstacle, confidence to know you can make it through it
What you can do
- Support them
- Help identify things that can cause slippage
- Show your confidence that they are able to overcome the obstacle
Other change models
References
The Transtheoretical Model of Change Video of Introduction to Transtheoretical Model
