All About the Science of Change and the Proven Steps that are Critical to Behaviour Modification

What is the Science of Change?

The Science of Change describes the critical processes that are involved in bringing about REAL change in human behaviour.

Change itself encompasses many different conceptual ideas and includes:

• Cognitive change for improved emotional outcomes.
• Habitual change for modifying or irradicating unwanted habits.
• Psychological change for overcoming mental health problems.
• Aspirational change for achieving personal goals and targets.

Achieving real and sustainable change can only be realised through behavioural change.

As a result, what this means is that you cannot change without doing something differently and doing things differently is bound up in the way that you behave.

Therefore, successful change is defined as change at the behavioural level.

What Steps Does Change Involve?

Effective change has been scientifically described by a group of researchers who developed the Transtheoretical Model of Behaviour Change (TTM) which has been proven to predict successful outcomes.

When comparing those who have achieved their goals with those who have failed, the most significant factor appears to be those who followed the steps described in the Behaviour Change Framework.

The Behaviour Change Framework

Change is achieved over several distinct phases:

• Pre-contemplation.
• Contemplation.
• Preparation.
• Action.
• Maintenance.
• Termination.

The research shows that each different phase of change needs to follow the previous in the right sequence, and also that different tools, methods and processes occur within those phases.

Indeed, using the wrong processes at any given phase of change, is likely to result in failure.

Consequently, using the correct tools at the correct time (step-matching) is critical to achieving change.

The Science of Change & Psychotherapy

Overcoming mental health problems has been the objective of psychotherapy since it was first devised by Freud at the end of the 19th Century.

Although psychotherapy has a long track record of success, there are many people who do not obtain the long-term relief from their problems that they might have hoped for.

This is often due to the premature termination of the therapy process before change has become habituated, or because of step mismatching during the process.

To overcome this limitation and help people get more lasting and fundamental changes from psychotherapy, we use the behaviour change framework to map the clients progress throughout the therapy journey.

Arrange your FREE initial consultation here.

If you’d like to find out more about overcoming or recovering from any of your mental health problems using the science of change protocols, then why not arrange a free initial consultation with us.

During this consultation we will discuss your particular issues and the different types of mental health counselling we offer (including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy – CBT) without you having to commit to any counselling going forward.

The consultation lasts around 50 minutes and is a great opportunity to meet with either Paul or Joan and decide if you would like to proceed with any support.