Committing to Change
June 6, 2011 by admin
Depression and anxiety create enough disruption in our life to motivate us to seek help. Simply wanting relief from emotional pain, however motivating, is not enough. You need to make a conscious decision to commit to change. The commitment to change is a significant component of any effective treatment, including CBT.
Changing the way we feel, think, and behave is very difficult. But in order to overcome depression or anxiety we should be willing to change. How do people change? The Transtheoretical Model of Change suggests that people change all the time, with or without professional help. The model includes the following five stages of change:
| Stage | Description |
|---|---|
| Pre-contemplation | The person has no intention of changing and is often not aware that a problem exists. |
| Contemplation | The person recognizes the problem and is seriously considering change but has not yet committed to action. |
| Preparation | The person intends to take action and has begun making small changes, but these are not yet sufficient. |
| Action | The person is actively investing time and energy to change behavior, experiences, or environment. |
| Maintenance | The person works to maintain progress and prevent relapse. |
These stages of change reflect shifts in a person’s attitudes, intentions, and behaviors. The processes of change in the Transtheoretical Model help explain how these shifts happen. Several examples of these processes are described below:
| Change Process | Description |
|---|---|
| Consciousness Raising | Becoming increasingly more aware and informed about one’s problem and its causes and consequences. Interventions such as observations, confrontations, interpretations, feedback, and education help raise awareness and move the person toward contemplating change. |
| Dramatic Relief | Using emotions such as fear, guilt, hope, and inspiration to encourage contemplation of change and to feel the relief that change can bring. Effective interventions include role playing, grieving, and personal testimonies. |
| Environmental Reevaluation | Assessing how a person’s problem negatively affects their social environment through both emotional and cognitive evaluation. Interventions include empathy training, value clarification, and family-based approaches. |
| Self-Liberation | Believing in the ability to change and committing to act on that belief. Strategies that increase motivation, such as offering choices and multiple pathways for change, are especially effective. |
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