Stages of Change
In grad school, we had a guest lecturer come to our class who was both an SLP and clinical counsellor. One of the things she discussed was the Stages of Change. The stages of change discussed in this blog post are based on the Transtheoretical Model by Prochaska & Diclemente (1983). It is important to discover which stage of change our client is in or our client’s parents are in when working with them. Which stage they are in determines how we will work with them. For example, if they are not yet at the “Action Stage” then it is probably wise to avoid jumping straight into therapy activities; instead, building rapport may be more productive.
1. Precontemplation Stage
Not intending to take action anytime soon (in the next 6 mo)
Lack of awareness regarding problematic nature of behaviour
Focus more on the negative aspects of changing the behaviour than the positive aspects
2. Contemplation Stage
Intending to take action soon (in the next 6 mo)
Awareness that behaviour may be problematic in nature
Increased level of awareness on both the negative and positive aspects of changing the behaviour
3. Preparation Stage
Ready to take action (in the next 30 days)
Awareness that a behaviour change will improve lifestyle
Small steps are taken to move toward a healthy change
4. Action Stage
Have changed behaviour recently (in the previous 6 mo)
Motivated to continue improving behaviour
5. Maintenance Stage
Behaviour changes have lasted (<6mo)
Maintenance of behaviour moving forward
Just having these stages in mind when working with clients and their families can make a huge difference in the way you plan sessions and your approach to collaboration with them.
-S
