Behaviour modification is extensively researched in psychology, out of which theoretical frameworks arise to guide us along to process. One of the more widely used theories of change is the Transtheoretical Model also known as the Stage of Change Model.
Before you begin to make changes in your life, here is a useful theory — call the Stages of Change Model, or SCM about the mind/body stages we go through when we do change. The Stages of Change Model was originally developed in the late 1970ís and early 1980ís by James Prochaska and Carlo DiClemente at the University of Rhode Island when they were studying how smokers were able to give up their habits. The SCM model has been applied to a broad range of behaviors including weight loss, injury prevention, overcoming alcohol, and drug problems among others.
In each of the stages, a person has to grapple with a different set of issues and tasks that relate to changing behavior.
The Stages of Change Model has been applied to a broad range of behaviors including weight loss, injury prevention, overcoming alcohol, and drug problems among others.
The idea behind the SCM is that behavior change does not happen in one step. Rather, people tend to progress through different stages on their way to successful change. Also, each of us progresses through the stages at our own rate. So expecting behavior change by simply telling someone, for example, who is still in the “pre-contemplation” stage that he or she must go to a certain number of AA meetings in a certain time period is rather naive (and perhaps counterproductive) because they are not ready to change. Each person must decide for himself or herself when a stage is completed and when it is time to move on to the next stage. Moreover, this decision must come from the inside you (see developing an internal locus of control) — stable, long term change cannot be externally imposed.
The Stages
Over the next week we will review each stage, its challenges, and tools and resources to overcome overcome them.
Information sourced from: Addiction Alternatives