Stages of change (p.43 of the book)
- Pre-contemplation - at this stage the individual does not think there is any need for change
- Contemplation - the individual has started to consider making a change
- Preparation - the individual has decided to make a chage and prepares to do so
- Action - the individual makes the change
- Maintenenace - the individual sustains the change
- Relapse - the individual no longer sustains the change, which takes them back to
- Pre-contemplation - the cycle can begin again (or not)
So let's think about this might apply to you as a nursing student ....
Let’s suppose it’s 6.30 a.m. on a Monday morning and your alarm goes off, telling you that you have to be in nursing class at 09.00. As you slowly wake up, which stage are you at?
I bet its PRE-CONTEMPLATION, as you say to yourself, ‘I don’t want to get up, as I’m tired, and it’s raining outside and the train will be packed, and it’s a lecture on a boring subject, given by a boring lecturer’, etc.
However, as you lie there, ambivalence develops. You remember that it is important for you to attend all your lectures as you are keen to develop your knowledge, and that it might be a boring subject to you, but it is also a core part of the curriculum.
This generates CONTEMPLATION and, as a result, you slowly get yourself out of bed and, as you PREPARE to get to class, you move into ACTION as you go out the door. Once at university, you are in MAINTENANCE. You get home, and later on, as you get tired, you go to bed. In the morning, at 6.30, your alarm goes off … you may RELAPSE and wake up in PRE-CONTEMPLATION again, and so the cycle starts all over again …
Now let's consider a couple of motivational interviewing questions and how you might respond to them.....