Change is an individual and personal process, and no one can change another person if they do not want to change . That is why coaching has the complex mission of empowering people to be aware of their own capacity to achieve their goals and to achieve positive and lasting changes in their lives.

For several decades, a theoretical model of change has been applied in many areas (addictions, unhealthy lifestyle changes, etc.) to help understand why individuals often fail despite wanting to implement change in their lives.

The process of personal change as seen from Psychology

There has been little work in the literature regarding specific change in the field of coaching, but a psychotherapeutic theory has proved to be very effective in this aspect, as it proposes not only a description of the phases or stages of change, but also provides a framework for correct intervention. This theory was proposed by James Prochaska (in the image) and Carlo Diclemente and is called Trans Theoretical Model of Change .

This model explains the phases that a person needs to overcome in the process of changing from a problematic behaviour (or behaviour that is intended to be changed) to one that is not, considering motivation as an important factor in this change, and assigning the subject an active role, since he or she is conceived as the main actor in his or her change of behaviour.

The model also takes into account other variables besides motivation, which in the opinion of the authors influence behaviour change. These elements are: the stages of change, the process of change, the decisional balance (pros and cons) and self-confidence (or self-efficacy).

Since any personal change requires commitment, time, energy and clear and realistic strategies, it is important to recognize that this process may involve difficulties. This theory warns that it is likely to suffer relapses and return to the previous stages . Therefore, it provides hope for individuals, since accepting failures as normal positively affects the perception of self-confidence (self-efficacy).

Coaches should make clients aware of this aspect of the theory, as it is a useful tool for empowering clients in the face of change.

The stages of the Prochaska and Diclemente shift model

This model gives us the opportunity to understand that human development is not linear but rather circular and that we human beings can go through various phases, and even stagnate and retreat on the path of change.

Below are the different stages of the Prochaska and Diclemente model, and for better understanding, we will use as an example an individual who wants to start exercising to improve his health and leave behind the sedentary life he was used to:

  • Precontemplation : at this stage the person is not aware of having a problem, and there are often defence mechanisms such as denial or rationalisation. In our example, the individual would not be aware of the negative effects of a sedentary life or would repeat to himself “you have to die from something”.
  • Contemplation : in this phase the person realizes that he or she has a problem, begins to look at the pros and cons of his or her situation, but has not yet made the decision to do something. In our example it would be someone who is aware that a sedentary life causes many health problems, but has not made the decision to join a gym or repeats “he will join”.
  • Preparation : the person has already made the decision to do something about it and starts taking some small steps. In our example it would be a person who goes to buy sportswear or registers at the municipal swimming pool.
  • Action : the person already takes the necessary steps, without excuses or delays. In our example the person begins to exercise.
  • Maintenance : the new behaviour is established, it starts to be a new habit. In our example, the person has been going swimming frequently for more than six months or has been practising “running” on a regular basis.

Maintenance phase

In the maintenance phase, the person may move to the “completion” phase where the new habit is already solid and it is difficult to quit, as it is part of their life; or they may relapse (although they may relapse at any stage), but never return to the “pre-contemplation” stage.

Relapses

In case of relapse, the person can:

  • Get hooked on change, recognize your progress, learn from experience and try not to make the same mistake again.
  • To see the relapse as a failure and to stagnate eternally without change.

Therefore, in the event of a relapse, the coach must make the client see that he or she is not a failure and must encourage the client to continue with the change.

The phases and levels of change

This dimension of the Trans-theoretical Model of Prochaska and Diclemente explains what changes are needed to abandon problematic behaviour and indicates the content of this change . All behaviour is given a context and is conditioned by certain environmental factors.

The different conditioning factors are organized in five interrelated levels, on which the coach intervenes following a hierarchical order, from more superficial to deeper. As they are related, changing one level can cause a change in another and it is also possible that intervention is not necessary at all levels, as not all levels have to affect the behaviour that is to be changed.

The five levels of change are:

  • Symptom/situation (pattern of harmful habits, symptoms, etc.).
  • Misadapted cognitions (expectations, beliefs, self-assessments, etc.).
  • Current interpersonal conflicts (dyadic interactions, hostility, assertiveness, etc.).
  • Systemic/family conflicts (family of origin, legal problems, social support network, employment, etc.).
  • Intrapersonal conflicts (self-esteem, self-concept, personality, etc.).

Coaching applied to personal change processes

Normally, intervention begins at the most superficial level, and as one advances, it is possible to intervene on deeper levels . The reasons why intervention is usually started at the most superficial level are

  • Change tends to happen more easily at this more manifest and observable level.
  • This level usually represents the main reason for attending the coaching session.
  • Since the level is the most aware and current, the degree of interference required for an assessment and intervention is less.
  • Since these levels are not independent, a change in one level is likely to cause changes in others.

Balance decisional

The decisional balance is the relative weight between the pros and cons of changing behavior, which each individual assigns in his or her awareness process. The model predicts that for individuals in the pre-contemplation stage, the cons of change will be more evident than the pros and that this decisional balance will gradually be reversed as individuals move through the remaining stages.

For individuals in the action and maintenance stages, the pros of change will be more important than the cons .

Another key: Self-efficacy

The Self-efficacy are the judgements and beliefs a person has about his or her abilities to successfully execute a certain task and, therefore, direct the course of his or her action. It helps to face different difficult situations, without having relapses. Therefore, it is positive to face the different problematic situations that may arise during the process of change and it is positive to maintain the desired behaviour.

The model predicts that self-efficacy will increase as individuals move through the stages of change .

If you want to know more about the concept of self-efficacy, we invite you to read the following post:

“Albert Bandura$0027s Self-Efficacy: Do you believe in yourself?”

Strategies for change

Within the Trans-theoretical Model of Change, the stages are useful to help situate the client at a given point . However, little would be achieved by knowing this and not knowing the strategies that could be implemented to enable the subject to move forward.

Change processes are the activities that enable the individual to move to a new stage, but it should be mentioned that they are not restricted to coaching. In fact, this theory comes from psychotherapy, since this model is the result of a comparative analysis of theories that led to psychological therapy and behavioral change in the 1980s.

As a result of the work, Prochaska identified 10 processes that occur in subjects who are changing their behavior , such as the “increase of consciousness” from the Freudian tradition, the “management of contingencies” from Skinner$0027s behaviorism, and the establishment of “helping relationships” from the humanist Carl Rogers.

Processes linked to change

The following processes characterize people in stages of change, and each works best at a particular stage:

  • Awareness raising : it has to do with individual efforts in the search for information and its corresponding understanding in relation to a certain problem.
  • Reevaluation of the environment : is an evaluation by the subject of the behaviour to be changed and its effect on interpersonal behaviour and on people close to him. Recognition of the benefits for such relationships derived from behaviour modification.
  • Dramatic relief : Experimentation and expression of emotional relationships provoked by the observation and/or warning of the negative aspects associated with the modified behaviour.
  • Self-assessment : Affective and cognitive assessment of the impact of the behaviour to be changed on the values and self-concept of the individual. Recognition of the benefits that change in behaviour represents for their life.
  • Social liberation : awareness, availability and acceptance by the subject of alternatives.
  • Counterconditioning : is the substitution of alternative behaviours to the behaviour to be changed.
  • Supportive relationships : is the use of social support to facilitate change.
  • Reinforcement management : changes the structure that supports the problem.
  • Self-release : commitment of the individual to change behaviour, including the idea that one owns his change
  • Stimulus control : is the control of situations and the avoidance of situations that initiate undesired behaviour.

Strategies applied to coaching

The intervention that the person needs to have an effective change depends on the stage he is in. At each stage there are specific interventions and techniques that have a greater impact in helping the person move to the next stages of behavior change. Below are some strategies that the coach can use at each stage:

Precontemplation

  • When the client is not aware of the negative effects of the change, it is necessary to provide appropriate information about the benefits of the change, i.e., why making the change may be beneficial to the person. It is important that the information be provided in a non-authoritative manner.

Contemplation

  • Help visualize the arguments for and against change.
  • To encourage reflection on the different options for change and their positive effect.
  • Encourage consideration of the first steps to begin making change, in a rational and realistic manner.

Preparation

  • Plan the change carefully together, rather than making decisions viscerally.
  • Fractionate the action plan into achievable goals.
  • Use a commitment contract with the change.
  • Help think of ways to follow through with the action plan.

Action

  • Follow the plan, monitor progress.
  • Reward and congratulate for the successes achieved (even the smallest ones).
  • Remind the benefits that will be produced if the objectives are achieved.
  • Help identify benefits when they happen.
  • To help the client to remain in a suitable state of motivation.
  • Help him learn from things that don$0027t go as expected.

Maintenance

  • Maintain and review plans until you are absolutely sure they are no longer needed.
  • In case of relapse, try not to go back to the starting point. Instead, help recognize progress and encourage learning from failures so that they do not happen again.
  • To help reflect on whether it is possible to help others make positive changes based on the experience of change

By way of conclusion

From this perspective, explains the behavioural change from its stages (the when), the processes (the how) and the levels (the what) . Attention is also paid to self-efficacy and motivation, understanding that the latter varies depending on the stage in which the person is, and understanding that this is mediated by multiple aspects of the subject (the desire to avoid failure or to maintain control of his/her life), which mean that motivation must be approached from a global point of view, understanding it as a process.

In coaching, this intervention model can be useful, as it provides knowledge about the stage in which the coachee is and provides information about the change processes appropriate for each stage, about the level or levels affected. Therefore, it produces a progressive change in the person seeking to change, addressing the most superficial aspects first, in order to progressively deal with the deeper aspects.

There are different questionnaires that provide this information in order to find out what stage the individual is at, but the coach can use verbal questions for the same purpose.

A theory that gives tools to the coach

Finally, in this theory there are also some aspects that are of great importance for the coach:

  • The coach should not treat all people as if they were in the action stage.
  • People who are in the action phase are more likely to achieve better and faster results than those who are in contemplation or preparation.
  • The coach must facilitate the step of introspection and action.
  • The coach must anticipate relapses, and make the client understand that they are part of the change.
  • The coach should encourage the coachee to self-regulate the action plans.