Psychology of Change Part 3

Michael Coleman, CHC, CPT, CES:

And I think this self-efficacy is something that we have to practice because we have an image of ourselves, you know, about body dysmorphia. In one of the psychiatric hospitals I worked at, I worked with women who had anorexia. They were super thin, but in their minds, they always needed to lose weight.

So I think that in regular life there are a lot of people who are like that.

There are many things about our lives that are actually going very well. But because of other images and ideas that surround us, we feel like we're not enough.

Yao Olivares, M.S., LMHC, LPC:

There are a lot of challenges when it comes to family because that's really the main support. If an individual sometimes struggles with making those connections and not having that type of network in their life, whether it's family, friends, or whatever, it really limits the outcome in terms of their mental wellness, so to speak.

Michael:

Let's talk about the preparation stage, actually making plans. What kinds of things have you successfully done to help people make plans for getting into the action stage?

Yao:

The preparation stage—I call it the I will change stage—is where the individual has decided to make a change and begins to consider how to do so. So, start with minor adjustments in their behavior, and it's done during this stage. I encourage them to see what will be happening, how they plan to prepare, what tools they need, and what resources they want.

Michael:

Yeah, I want to emphasize the word “tools” because I believe that it's important.

Also, changing the word accountability to ownership.

It starts from the idea of wanting someone to hold you “accountable.” However, when you take ownership, you can say, “Well, I want to stop smoking, or you can say, “I am a nonsmoker.”

👇Go to this Instagram link for the popular video series posted about this subject!👇

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