The
Stages Of Change Model was developed by Psychologist James Prochaska when he was doing research on how smokers gave up their addictive habit (or not). Prochaska found six basic stages of change that everyone cycles through on the way to quitting an addiction and/or modifying a behavioral change.
The stages of change are:
Precontemplation --(Not yet acknowledging that there is a problem behavior that needs to be changed)
Contemplation -- (Acknowledging that there is a problem but not yet ready or sure of wanting to make a change)
Preparation/Determination-- (Getting ready to change)
Action/Willpower-- (Changing behavior)
Maintenance-- (Maintaining the behavior change) and
Relapse (Returning to older behaviors and abandoning the new changes)
Each stage is necessary and must be utilized in order to facilitate effective and lasting change. For example, one cannot move directly from a contemplative state to an action state without preparing to do so first.
Another thing the researchers found is that relapse is a normal part of change, and that most folks cycle through these processes several times before making lasting changes in their lives.
I would like to discuss this theory and the idea of overcoming addictions and addictive behavior.
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