Sometimes when I’m studying, I can’t help but say “duh” out loud. Lately, I’ve been brushing up on the stages of change within substance abuse. Although I’ve written and taught about them before, I like to revisit various models and theories from a different perspective. When I do brush up on a topic, like in the case of the study within which I’m immersed, I run into concepts that seem quite obvious to me which then leads to my “duh” moment. The thing is, however, that what may seem obvious to me probably isn’t to others.
For example, a book entitled, “Substance Abuse Treatment and the Stages of Change” calls for a client’s functional analysis as a way to determine the skills needed to implement a change plan (pg. 132). When I read the entire chapter and how this functional analysis should proceed, I couldn’t help but say “duh.” I mean, because I’ve led too many change programs to count, I see a functional analysis and skills inventory as standard practices. But when I look a little deeper, I actually think I should rescind my “duh.”
Really, if someone needs to make a change, not only does she need to state the change, but she should also understand if she has the skills needed to make the particular change. In order to do this, the changes should be spelled out as specifically as possible. Once it’s spelled out and detailed, then and only then can she list the skills she needs. If she doesn’t know in very detailed terms what the change should be, then she really can’t determine what skills she needs.
It may seem obvious, but a lot of the time, when I talk with people about changing, they don’t really have specifics. I mean, they say things like, “I want to stop drinking” or “I want to lose weight,” but they don’t really say anything more specific. I’ll respond with questions, which then usually leads folks to clam up and change the subject. Once we get down to the nitty gritty, the thought needed seems to overwhelm people.
So, if you want to change something, be specific and then analyze your functioning around what you want to change. For example, if you want to stop drinking, take a look at where you drink the most, what time of day, any triggers that lead you to drink, and then determine if you have the skills to change your functioning around those things. It’s a lot of thought and work, but if you really want to change, there will be work involved….
(As an aside, organizations should also do these exercises, but that’s post for a different day)
