VL4 BEHAVIOUR CHANGE AND MAINTENANCE

BEHAVIOUR CHANGE TECHNIQUES

Methods or strategies adopted in interventions designed to change behaviour through activation of, or change in, one or more theory-based psychological determinants.

Examples
‒ Goal setting
‒ Self-monitoring
‒ Feedback and reinforcement
‒ Habit formation
‒ Habit reversal

The different Steps to Behaviour Change:

Motivational Interviewing (1 Precontemplation 2 Contemplation)

Implementation Intentions: If-Then-Plans (3 Preparation 4 Action)

Relapse Prevention (5 Maintenance)

MOTIVATIONAL INTERVIEWING

Is applied on Persons that have not decided or a forming the desire to change a behavior. It’s client centered and aims to promote intrinsic motivation via exploring and resolving ambivalences. It’s a Cooperative dialogue about changes.

Important in MOTIVATIONAL INTERVIEWING “Spirit”

‒ Partnership (on the same Level, non directive)
‒ Acceptance (empathy, supporting the Client)
‒ Evocation (bring the client to discover the motivation to change)
‒ Compassion (joy, genuine interest in the person and topic)

provide guidance

MOTIVATIONAL INTERVIEWING: FOUR PROCESSES

Engaging
• Building a trusting and respectful relationship

Focusing
• Narrowing the conversation to target a specific behavior change

Evoking
• Drawing out the individual`s own motivations and ideas for change

Planning
• Developing a concrete plan for change collaboratively

MOTIVATIONAL INTERVIEWING: OARS SKILLS

Open-ended questions
• Encourage exploration

Affirmations
• Recognize strengths and efforts

Reflective listening
• Mirror the individual’s statements to show understanding and validate their feelings

Summarising
• Recap and consolidate discussions to reinforce key points and facilitate transitions

what not to do when Reflective listening

Does not involve asking questions → lower your voice
Is not on a meta level → «I hear that…»
Avoid drawing logical conclusions → «Do you mean that...»

Summarising

• Recap and consolidate discussions to reinforce key points and
facilitate transitions

• Collecting summary, e.g., at the end of the conversation

• Linking summary, e.g., conecting current and previous statements

• Transitional summary, e.g., transition between different MIprocesses

Change talk Desire: «I really want to get healthier.»

• «What changes would you like to see?»
• «What do you hope for?»
• «What do you dislike about the current situation?»

Change talk Ability: «I think I could start exercising more.»

• «What changes would you dare to make?»
• «If you were to decide to make a change, how would you go about it?»

Change talk Reason: «I need to do this for my kids.»

• «What reasons speak in favour of a change?»

• «Please complete the following sentence: «It can't go on like this because...?»

Change talk Need: «I have to quit now.»

• «What needs to happen?»

• «How serious or urgent do you think this is?»

BEHAVIOUR CHANGE TECHNIQUES: IMPLEMENTATION INTENTIONS

If-Then-Plans have a positive effect with a medium to large effect. They are especially helpful in overcoming key problems related to the intention-behaviour gap.

They prevent to Fail:

-to get startet

-to keep goal pursuit on track

-to bring goal pursuit to a successful close

Action planning
If-Then If I feel stressed…
Then…

What? Jogging for 45 min.
When? Tuesdsay evening after work at 7pm
Where? In the forest
With whom? With my friend

Coping planning

Overcoming barriers If…Barrier: bad weather

Then…

play squash for 45 min.

When? Tuedsay evening after work at 7pm

Where? In the squash center

With whom? With my friend

How to empower people to choose a sport or exercise activity that aligns with their personal preferences

1. Enhancing motivational competence, so people can...
− name their own sport-related motives and goals.
− adequately assess the incentives of sport and exercise activities.
− choose and carry out a sport or exercise activity that corresponds to their motives and goals in a self-determined manner.

2. Promotion of self-concordance: intrinsic and identified motivation

3. Promotion of self-control

4. Promotion of exercise and sport activity

COUNSELLING ELEMENTS: 1ST STEP

> Content: Assessing of sport-related motives and goals as well as current and previous sport and exercise behavior
> Format: On the computer
> Duration: 10 min

COUNSELLING ELEMENTS: 2ND STEP

> Content: Feedback on the individual motive profile and the motive based sport type ; and brief reflection on it: Reflective listening and open-ended questions.

> Format: Personal conversation

> Duration: 10 min

COUNSELLING ELEMENTS: 3RD STEP

> Content: Participation in various trial sessions; assessment of sport and exercie experiences and well-being

> Format: Three trial sessions in small groups, led by a trained instructor

> Duration: 30 minutes each session

COUNSELLING ELEMENTS: 4TH STEP

> Content: Reflecting on experiences in the trial sessions; joint search for suitable activities

> Format: Personal conversation

> Duration: approx. 20 min

> Application of selected «techniques» of motivational interviewing

— Asking open-ended questions
— Reflective listening
— Developing collaboratively a so-called
«change plan»

COUNSELLING ELEMENTS: 5TH STEP

> Content: Reflecting on experiences made with «new» exercise and sport activities, joint discussion of so-called «trouble shooting»→ Coping plan

> Format: by telephone

> Duration: approx. 20 min

HABITS

‒ «…learned associations between performance of a target
behavior of interest and specific environmental or contextual
conditions»
‒ «…specific form of automaticity and, therefore, requires little
conscious reasoning or reflection, and, importantly, is
expected to be independent of the need of a deliberate goal
or desired outcomes»
‒ «…tend to be experienced as relatively automatic, unthinking,
effortless or ‘easy’, and self-consistent»

Habit formation
‒ takes approximately 3 to 6 months → After 6 months,
maintenance is expected
‒ However, this can vary individually, e.g., 18–254 days

STRATEGIES TO PREVENT RELAPSES

Triggers: These triggers show me that I might relapse into my old habit Old habit: Smoking

→My STOPP-signal: Make a fist

Emergency-plan for triggers: Strategies to prevent relapse in the future → no more Smoking