prochaska's model

• prochaska's model contains 6 stages in which an addicted individual goes through to change their behaviour. it acknowledges that the process does not hppen quickly or in a straight linear order. it is rather a cyclical process where they may be some orderly progression but a lot of returning to older stages or some may be missed out altogether.
• based on 2 major assumptions:

  1. addicted people differ in how ready they are to change their behaviour.
  2. how useful a treatment intervention depends on the stage in which the individual is in.
• the 6 stages are: pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation , action, maintenance, termination.
• pre-contemplation: individual is not thinking about changing their addiction-related behaviour anytime soon or in the near future. this may be because they are in denial as they may think they do not have any problems. or demotivation, the individual may have attempted to change their behaviour, but they have always failed and ended up relapsing back into their addiction.
• contemplation: individual is thinking about making a change to their behaviour in the next 6 months. they are ambivalent. the person is aware of the need for change + wants the benefits of it but are also aware of the costs (this could be withdrawal symptoms). however, treatment intervention would not be helpful during this stage as the person can remain in a chronic state of contemplation for a long time. a more helpful way would be to show how the pros outweigh the cons.
• preparation: person believes that the pros do outweigh the cons and they decide to change their behaviour in perhaps the next month. although, they haven't decided how or when to change their behaviour. this is where constructing a plan or calling the GP/a helpline may be useful.
• action: people at this stage has done something to chnge their addicted-related behaviour in the past 6 months. e.g. this is where behavioural/cognitive treatments become potentially effective. or they may do something less formal but no less meaningful e.g. cutting up their cigarettes or pouring all the alcohol down the sink. treatment internvention at this stage should focus on developing coping skills the person will need when they quit.
• maintenance: person has maintained some sort of behaviour change for more than 6 months. they are now focusing on preventing relapse - perhaps by avoiding situation where cues may trigger their addictive behaviours. this is accompanied by a growing confidence and the change in behaviour has become a way of life.
• termination: newly acquired behaviours like abstinence become automatic. the person may no longer feel the need to return to addictive behaviours to cope with anxiety, stress, depression and so on. may be unrealistic for some individuals, and so the most achievable goal would be to remain in the maintenance stage for as long as they can + accepting that relapse is inevitable.
• strength: has high external validity by acknowledging that relapse is inevitable and that overcoming an addiction is extremely difficult. shown through how the model is a cyclical process rather than a linear progress. has great application to the real world.
• limitation: difference between stages are too arbitrary (random). e.g. sutton pointed out that if one plans to stop smoking in 30 days they are in the preparation stage, but if they plan to give up in 31 days they are in contemplation. bandura claims that the first 2 stages are not qualitatively different as the only difference between them is how much they want to change.