Stages of Change
This stage requires the client to expend physical energy.
Action
Jamie wants to start adding 20 mins of strength training 2x/wk. She has a busy schedule and never gave strength training much thought until she met her boyfriend.
Precontemplation
When someone is experiencing mixed feelings about starting something new, he or she is _______.
Ambivalent
Comments made by clients that support the status quo are known as _____.
Sustain talk
Give a client advice or tips without gaining their permission first.
definite don't! This would be considered the righting reflex.
Precontemplation
Jamie discovers that her friend lifts weights a few times a week and asks her to demonstrate exercises. The two set a date to meet at the gym next week.
Preparation
What 2 stages of change are considered states of ambivalence?
contemplation and preparation
This kind of language often predicts actual behavior change.
Change Talk
A client mentions they want to exercise after work but they feel exhausted. You say "What if you stopped at the gym before getting home?"
Definite don't - while our first inclination as a nutrition and fitness coach may be to nudge the client forward, providing him or her with unsolicited advice can actually create a roadblock as the client thinks about how to respond to your advice.
In this stage, change has been consistent for 6 months.
Maintenance
Jamie's time frees up and she starts going to the gym consistently through the spring and summer months.
Maintenance
When you deviate from your old habits and start to do something new on a consistent basis, you are essentially growing new ______ and pruning the old ones back.
neural connections
Ambivalence is often rooted in a discrepancy between an individual's ______ and _______.
Values / Actions
Use empathy as a way to share in the feelings that a client is going through to let him or her know you understand their experiences and emotions.
Do! - Empathy helps to create healthy human relationships and can demonstrate you are a good listener.
In this stage, the individual is aware change needs to be made but has mixed feelings about making the change.
Contemplation
Jamie starts to catch on to weight lifting techniques and figures out how she can fit it into her schedule by shortening the amount of time she spends on the cardio machines.
Action
People who start to feel as if a change in behavior is unnerving or mentally taxing will revert to old habits because they're ______.
Comfortable
Motivation for change is likely to increase when the client recognizes there is a discrepancy between a ______ and a ________.
current choice / personal goal
Adopt an attitude of unconditional positivity toward people trying to change.
DO! - by doing this, you allow the individual the support they need to take responsibility for their behaviors and accept themselves as they are.
In this stage, the individual is expressing a desire to change within the next month and is seriously considering how to do it.
Preparation
Jamie's mom always tells her she slouches and that strength training might help. As Jamie considers the change, she wonders how it will fit into her busy schedule and how she will learn the exercises.
Contemplation
True or False: Spending time with ambivalence tends to help a client move through it.
TRUE! It can actually be helpful to shine a light on your client's ambivalence in a nonjudgmental way so that he or she can acknowledge the discrepancy, free from pressure.
_______ listening is used to help the client see the discrepancy between what they say they want vs their actions while maintaining full autonomy over their actions.
Reflective listening
A client mentions that they had a heart attack 3 weeks ago, which is why they're now seeking health coaching. Your initial response is: "That must have been really scary."
DO! - using an empathy statement to acknowledge a major event that brought the client to health coaching demonstrates to the client that you desire to understand their perspective.