Today we begin part 1 of our series looking at the science and strategies behind positive behaviour change, starting with the cycle of Change
The Cycle of Change or Transtheoretical Model of Change (Prochaska and DiClemente) was developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It has become a widely used framework in both counselling and psychology for understanding how individuals move through the process of changing their behaviour.
The model can been applied to various types of behaviour change, including smoking cessation, substance abuse treatment, and for adopting healthier behaviours such as exercising more or eating healthier.
The Cycle of Change (Prochaska and DiClemente)
The model consists of 6-7 stages that individuals typically move through when making significant changes in their lives:
Precontemplation
Individuals begin the process of change unaware of the problematic nature of their behaviour. They may be engaging in choices (e.g. drug or alcohol consumption, smoking, poor diet, lack of exercise) and see no problem with this, and are therefore resistant to the idea of changing.
The key elements present at this point are denial, lack of awareness, and resistance.
Contemplation Here, individuals begin to see the need for change but will be ambivalent about taking action. They may be considering the pros and cons of making a change, but are not yet ready to commit to taking active steps towards behaviour change.
The key elements here are increased awareness, mixed feelings or ambivalence about the change, and consideration of change.
Preparation In this stage, individuals are committed to making a change. They are taking the steps necessary to ready themselves for the change, such as gathering information, making plans, and setting goals.
The key elements of this stage are seeking support, making plans, and setting goals.
Action
The action stage is characterised by actual behavior change. Here, individuals are actively implementing their plans and working towards the goals designed to help sustain behaviour change.
The key factors here are commitment to change and active behaviour change.
Maintenance
Here, individuals are working towards sustaining the changes they've made so far. Individuals draw upon their overarching goals, support from others, and new skills and strategies to assist them in the journey of maintaining their new behaviours. Individuals will also work towards actively prevent relapse.
The key elements here are long-term commitment to change and relapse prevention.
Relapse
The relapse stage of the model accounts for the inevitability that behaviour change is difficult and that lapsing back into pre-exisiting behaviours is a natural part of the larger change process. The term lapse, rather than relapse, suggests a temporary nature to the return to old habits and behaviours. One of the benefits to lapsing is that individuals can re-enter the cycle (Contemplation/ Preparation/ Action/ Maintenance) with more knowledge, skills, and experience than their very first attempt, which increases the likelihood that their attempts at changing their behaviour will be successful.
The key elements here are relapsing into old behaviours and habits, managing strong emotions around relapse, and commitment to resuming behaviour change.
Termination
The termination stage represents the point at which the individual has successfully integrated the desired behaviuor change into their life. They no longer experience temptations or relapses.
The key factors here are behaviour change which has become part of the person's identity and the absence of temptations.
It's important to note that not everyone progresses through these stages in a linear fashion. Some people will skip stages or jump between them as they experience lapses throughout their behaviour change journey depending on their unique circumstances and the behaviour change they're trying to achieve. Each individual's journey through behaviour change will be unique, so each treatment plan is specifically tailored to suit your individual circumstances.
Behaviour change can be extremely difficult. In some cases, you may be trying to change a habit or behaviour which you've done you're entire life. The good news is that behaviour change is possible. Reach out to us today to explore how we can support you through behaviour change.