Behavior Change Project - Essay Example

This model proposes that human functioning can be presented by an interaction of three factors: behavior, personality, and environmental factors. The second theory is known as the Theory of Planned Behavior which suggests that behavior depends on a person’s intention to perform that behavior (World Bank, n.d). The last theory proposed by Prochaska et al argues that an individual’s change of behavior goes through five distinct stages (Parker & Parikh, 2001). Description of Client The client whom this project is designed for is a 29-year-old female college student by the name of Oxana Gintse.

Oxana is a student studying nursing and she is my classmate. Oxana used to exercise some 10 years ago; for at least 30 minutes regularly by running. When she joined the nursing school she became so occupied with her course in that she left her daily routine of exercise. Client’s Situation Oxana had a good psyche and nice body shape but when she quit exercising, her body began to grow out of proportion; she had problems with walking long distances, and she was growing older than her age. Moreover, she was normally stressed most of the time because of matters that could have been seen as trivial.

This clearly indicated that she could develop other complications such as osteoporosis, diabetes, and high blood pressure among others. Step-by-Step Behavior Change Plan The plan that was developed was based on Prochaska et al. theory of behavior change known as the Transtheoretical model of behavior change. This model suggests that change occurs in five stages, even though some authors have proposed a sixth stage. These stages are; Pre-contemplation, Contemplation, Preparation, Action, and Maintenance (Travel Smart, 2000).

Pre-Contemplation stage: This is a stage in that Prochaska describes the victim still being in the oblivion of the impending danger of her behavior. She is comfortable with her current state or because of other factors, she believes that she is not able to change. This was the stage my client was in at the start of the project; she was so absorbed in her nursing classes and had no time for exercise. This is a dangerous stage, therefore the first step I took was to educate her and convince her into exercising, and this led us to the next stage.

Contemplation Stage; I let the client contemplate the benefits of exercise such as being good for the heart, promotion of weight loss, prevention of high blood pressure, reducing stress, and promotion of healthy pregnancy among other factors as put forward by O’Brien (2006). I let her compare her life when she was exercising and the life she led after abandoning exercise. The fact that she had exercised before made my explanation a bit easier. However, her main fear was that; given the demanding nature of her course, she won’t get time for exercise.

This I explained to her, could not be a time-taking exercise, and was only to be done during their free time; when she is too tired to undertake any task. By the end of this step, I had managed to convince my client of the importance of exercising. Since this is an activity she had forsaken for so long, there was a need for positive reinforcement and preparation. This is because Prochaska (2001) asserts that change is gradual and does not happen gradually. Preparation Stage: In this stage, my client and I took about 10 minutes daily to exercise.