A prospective client tells you that he has been going for 2-mile walks a couple of times each week for the past two months, and that he joined the gym because he is finally ready to adopt a more structured workout regimen.

What is this individual's stage of change?

a. Contemplation

b. Preparation

c. Action

d. Maintenance

Preparation

Explanation:

The Stages of Change Model focuses on the decision-making of a person and is a model of intentional change. In other words, it is used when the person actively makes the decision of making a change.

The stages of this model are:

Precontemplation: People do not intend to take action in the foreseeable future (within the next 6 months). They don't even realize that their behavior is problematic. Contemplation: People are intending to start the healthy behavior in the foreseeable future (within the next 6 months). They start to recognize that their behavior is problematic but still feel ambivalent towards changing it. Preparation: People are ready to take action within the next 30 days. They start taking small steps toward the change and think this can lead to a healthier life. Action: People have recently changed their behavior (within the last 6 months) and intend to keep moving forward with it. They now have healthier habits. Maintenance: People have sustained their behavior change for over 6 months and they are working to prevent relapses. Termination: People have no desire to return to their unhealthy behaviors and they know they won't relapse.

In this example, your client has been going for 2-mile walks a couple of times each week for the past two months and is ready to adopt a more structured workout regimen. We can see that your client is taking small steps toward change (2-mile walks) and that he is ready to start the gym in the next days. Thus, this individual would be in the preparation stage of change.