Behavioral change involves the breaking of habits that one is already used to and adopting new ones that are better. The move is not as straightforward as people put it because some stages are involved to be able to drop a bad habit and not repeat it. It is common that at one time or another, people are embarked on efforts to change some parts of their lives that seem to be a bother. Examples of changes that most people intend to put efforts on include the idea of starting to save, stop smoking, getting a job among others. Studies show that making a change mainly from a bad habit is a hard-won experience that comes with launching ourselves into action is often harder than it sounds, and less productive than we hoped.
Bill and Gloria
Bill is in the Precontemplation stage where for his immediate future have no plans to make any change. In this stage, subjects are characterized with not being fully aware of the potential benefits that will result from embracing change. There are also the aspects of undermining the benefits that might be realized as well as overestimating the cost to be incurred. There are two scenarios where the change process might appear to be just plain or else too much work depending on subject’s altitude (Prochaska, 2013). In Bill's case, having been married for seventeen years, there is still no communication and involvement in the family. This is because he spends most of the time at work and spares very little time for his children and wife. As a result of this, his wife is suffering from depression due to the family crisis. The pre-contemplation stage applies in his case when he joins Gloria in a counseling process but is not concerned. He fails to be active because his mind just focuses on performance identity. The aspect is also seen when analyzing his background where his family was described to be always working and not very close. Despite having such an origin he is not willing to make a change in his own family. Additionally, the idea of him being laid off from his job for a few months and still following the same pattern after returning to work even after having time to spend with his family shows that he is not willing to change.
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Change process for Bill
To be able to move from the current stage and reach the termination stage some practices are required. Bill needs to be motivated to start thinking positively about the benefits of often communicating with his family to be able to move to the contemplation stage. The theory of stuck togetherness where the idea of having no family member with an identity distinct from the others is encouraged. Reaching the preparation stage where Bill has to get ready for action involves the idea of being more decisive, confident and committed (Prochaska, 2013). He has to be encouraged to meet his family often despite the fixed working schedules. The social learning theory can work best for him where he will be taught using combining more than one activity and still yield good results. The fourth stage-action- is when the individual starts doing things differently. To move from the preparation stage to action for Bill will involve attending support groups and counseling where people are working to strengthen their commitment to the change. It is essential for Gloria to offer emotional and physical support to encourage the steps taken. After some months of consistency action, Bill will move to the maintenance stage. Moving to this stage mainly involves being engaged in activities that keep one strong and moving. Bill will have attained a higher capacity to jostle between work and family. The idea of support theory is needed to be able to help maintain the acquired behaviors (Norcross & Krebs, 2015). Bill will stay on the maintenance path for approximately two years before getting to the last stage which is termination. Here the past behavior will be entirely gone, and he will master the art of behavior change.
Conclusion
Too often people have been presented with the fake and false choices to change their behavior. The idea of taking immediate action might not apply to everyone but following the stages of change is a more efficient means for change. Throughout the process, it is essential to keep going to be able to realize the ultimate benefits.
References
DiClemente, C. C., & Prochaska, J. O. (2013). Toward a comprehensive, transtheoretical model of change: Stages of change and addictive behaviors.
Norcross, J. C, & Krebs, P. M. (2015). Stages of change. Journal of clinical psychology , 67 (2), 143-154.
Prochaska, J. O. (2013). Transtheoretical model of behavior change. In Encyclopedia of behavioral medicine (pp. 1997-2000). Springer New York.
