Stages of Change
A plain-language explanation of the transtheoretical model of change: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance and relapse. Helps clients recognise where they are and what the next step looks like.
About this resource
The stages of change model was developed by James Prochaska and Carlo DiClemente from studies of how people quit smoking, with and without treatment. It describes change not as a single decision but as a series of stages that people move through, often more than once. The model is widely used in addiction services and sits naturally alongside motivational interviewing, where the clinician's task is to match their approach to the client's current stage rather than push for action before the client is ready.
This handout describes each stage in everyday terms, normalises moving backward as well as forward, and reframes relapse as information rather than failure. It is written so that a client at any stage can find themselves in it without feeling judged. For a precontemplative client it plants the idea that change is a process; for a client in action or maintenance it prepares them for the likelihood of setbacks.
The professional version adds guidance on stage-matched interventions: raising awareness and rolling with resistance in precontemplation, exploring ambivalence in contemplation, building a concrete plan in preparation, supporting skills and self-efficacy in action, and relapse planning in maintenance. It also notes the common error of treating a contemplative client as though they are in preparation.
How to use it
- Offer the handout early in treatment, ideally after the client has described their relationship with the behaviour in their own words.
- Ask the client to read it and mark the stage that best fits them today. Accept their answer without correcting it; the aim is to open a conversation, not to assign a label.
- Explore what moving to the next stage would involve, and what has moved them between stages in the past.
- Match your intervention to the stated stage. If the client is contemplating, use a decisional balance rather than a change plan.
- Return to the handout after a setback to normalise the spiral and identify what was learned.
References
- Prochaska, J. O., & DiClemente, C. C. (1983). Stages and processes of self-change of smoking: Toward an integrative model of change. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 51(3), 390-395.
- Prochaska, J. O., DiClemente, C. C., & Norcross, J. C. (1992). In search of how people change: Applications to addictive behaviors. American Psychologist, 47(9), 1102-1114.
- Miller, W. R., & Rollnick, S. (2013). Motivational Interviewing: Helping People Change (3rd ed.). Guilford Press.
