How to get (and keep) going with behavior change

1. Hosted By:
Dr. Dawn-Elise “Doc” Snipes

2. Developing Momentum
in the Change Process
Instructor: Dr. Dawn-Elise Snipes PhD, LPC-MHSP, LMHC
Executive Director: AllCEUs Counseling CEUs and Specialty Certificates
Podcast Host: Counselor Toolbox, Happiness Isn’t Brain Surgery

3. Objectives
 Describe the ideal momentum in a change process
 Examine causes of “stuckness”
 Review phases of readiness for change and
appropriate interventions to increase readiness
 Explore issues that may lead to stuckness and
interventions

4. Question
 Think of a time you have tried to change
something
 What causes your “stuckness?”
 What does “stuckness” look like for you?
 What do you do to keep momentum going?

5. Stuckness vs. Plateau
 Expect to experience plateaus where gains seem
to stall.
 A plateau lasting more than about a month in
which the you have not reached maximal gains
should be explored
 Is something else going on and you don’t have the
energy resources to devote to change right now?
Or is have you just lost steam?
 Do goal objectives need to be changed?
Think about a train
going up a hill. Is
there a tree down on
the tracks or did it
just lose power?

6. Causes of Stuckness
 Competing priorities
 Not motivated to abandon old behaviors
 Wrong or incomplete problem/cause identification
 Goals are too broad, poorly defined or complicated
 Don’t feel heard or understood by supports (yes buts
or the same issue repeatedly comes up)
 Don’t understand the importance of daily practice or
connection to recovery
 You don’t challenge yourself through Socratic
questioning to arrive at solutions retrospectively or in
the present

7. Readiness for Change
 Precontemplation: Not ready
 Contemplation: Realizing there may be a problem
 Preparation: Trying to figure out what to do and
decide if they are ready to change their behaviors
 Action: Ready to change
 “Do the impossible” by focusing on prior successes and
viewing this as a challenge
 Maintenance
 Maintain progress on problem A while addressing B

8. Reflection
 Think about a change you wanted to make that
lost it’s momentum.
 What happened?
 Why were the benefits of the new behavior not
rewarding enough?
 What did you miss about the old behaviors?

9. Not (Totally) Ready for Change
Change causes crisis and crisis causes change
 Examine the benefits of the old behaviors
 Ensure interventions meet the same need to a similar
degree
 Develop discrepancies between current behaviors and
goals
 Explore & address the drawbacks to the
interventions
 Increase frequency and or intensity of rewards for
the new behavior

10. Wrong/Incomplete Problem Identification
 Examine the problem from a biopsychosocial
perspective
 Depression
 Physical
 Cognitive
 Interpersonal
 Environmental/situational
 Examine what you hope to get out of the change
(Miracle question)
 Depression Treatment Happiness Relationship
Improvement
 Anxiety treatment Happiness Stop bingeing

11. Issues
 Motivation/readiness seems to wane
 Interventions implemented too quickly or too many at
once.
KISS
 Interventions target the wrong issue
Addressing relationship communication issues when one
or both also have low self-esteem, abandonment issues
and are projecting the past on to the present.
 Interventions incomplete
Targets cognitions but not interpersonal skills or physical
vulnerabilities/contributors to your anxiety/depression

12. Homework / Daily Application
 Baseline and monitoring to see gradual improvements
(maintains motivation)
 Regular use of new tools to strengthen memory
connections and effectiveness
 Prioritizing doing the work to achieve recovery as you
define it.
 Why do you want to recover
 How does prioritizing X over therapy help you achieve your
recovery?
 What needs to happen so you can remember to do your
homework? (alarms, scheduled SMS messages, visual
reminders)

13. Homework
 Tailor the work to meet your learning needs
 Prose vs. lists
 Free-form vs. worksheets
 Videos vs. books
 Keep it short.
 Total time each day ~1hour including logging
throughout the day
 Work it in to your daily routine
Journaling/worksheets during coffee or just before bed
Listen to audio recording on the way to work or at the
gym

14. Socratic Questioning
 By using socratic questioning you strengthen the
memory pathways to trigger using the skills on
your own.
 Why do you think you reacted the way you did? (looking
for vulnerabilities and why old behavior is more
beneficial)
 What skills do you have that you think might have been
useful in that situation
 How might it have helped (identify the reward)
 How do you think you can help yourself remember to
use that skill in the future

15. 3 Steps to a Breakthrough
 Define your goal, making each step REWARDING
 Develop your change plan, learning from prior
experiences.
 Increase and regularly refresh your motivation
 Cognitively
 Environmentally
 Socially
AllCEUs Unlimited CEUs $59 | Addiction Counselor Certificate Training $149 | Specialty Certificates $89 15

16. Summary
 Change requires a certain amount of momentum
 Examine why prior attempts at change have failed and explore
why and what you can do to address it.
 Make sure goals are specific, measurable, accurate, realistic
and time limited
 As you learn new skills and ways of responding it is vital to
practice them on a daily basis. Don’t expect immediate
perfection.
 Sometimes motivation and compliance can be increased by
 Social support
 Environmental reminders and changes
 Identifying and regularly reviewing the benefits of the change as well
as the drawbacks to the old behavior
 Logging and reviewing progress on a daily basis