Random thoughts, readings and ramblings of a geeky therapist: Enabling behaviour change check list

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Behaviour change checklist to follow for anyone who is involved in dealing with patients/ clients.
This is in no specific order:

1. Identify where they are at now
2. What have they tried before, what happened?
3. What do they believe they want?
4. What is their learning style
5. Identify what stage of readiness your client/ patient is at?. If you don't know start to probe so you can figure this out!
6. Getting a client to take responsibility for their own health is essential ask probing questions
7. Identify what their confidence level is on a scale of 0-10
8. What will support they need in order to be more confident and in more control
9. What are they consequences if they do not make the change now
10. What are the consequences if they do change
11. When coaching your client / patient you must focus on coaching them and not giving advice as advising only builds RESISTANCE to change
12. Coaching means believing there is always a solution to every problem
13. Coaching means their is no such thing as failure only FEED BACK
14. YOU as a therapist/ coach must take responsibility for your communication with your client and the meaning they put on it. If it doesn't work CHANGE IT
15. To be a good coach you must believe the solution to your clients problem is inside of them
16. Ideally teach your client to fish for themselves not give them the fish!!!
17. Never forget if they have come to you and they are at a stage of action. Set appropriate goals to help take the from action to maintenance stage.
18. Remember it takes 6 months or slightly more before your patient / client will move into the maintenance stage.
19. Do not forget it is very easy for people to slip back into their old habits from maintenance stage. Especially during times of high stress
20. Teach them to learn what their triggers are and how to be confident in self managing their set backs/ relapses or flare ups
21. If you are a personal trainer arrange weekly or monthly coaching calls. If you are physio arrange your follow up appointments accordingly. This is to help keep your client in check and remind them of their why and re- focus them.

Understand what motivates people

1. People are motivated from moving away from pain and into pleasure
2. When you are coaching your patients/ clients you should always ask your clients to focus on their goals and how their life will be different if they achieved them (moving into pleasure)
3. What does their choice mean? Does it have an end or beginning? For example Lance Armstrong had a beginning he won the Tour de France after he was diagnosed with gesticulate cancer because that diagnosis gave him a new meaning to his life. He increased his emotional and psychological fitness!
4. Avoid making your clients dwell on how they are now it can bring them down
5. Remind your clients “The more rules they have about how they should be, the less happy your clients are going to be happy". - Tony Robbins
6. Help move your patients/ clients out of the mindset that we are our past... If they live with that mind set then your past is your future.
7. Remind them were their is a will their is a way, your circumstances are NOT the defining factor!!!
8. The defining factor is never lack of resources it’s how resourceful you are
9. Remind your patient/ client that their emotion is a resource. If you are able to coach them to focus their emotion and energy into one area in their life and attach the right type of meaning to it. This will give your client a sense of purpose.
10. Success does not happen over night, the journey is more important then the summit
11. Teach your clients that their choice shape their destiny
12. Rituals define us... What you do to achieve your physique is defined by the rituals you set in place everyday!
13. Daily rituals help build a stronger focus, foundation and which will enable them to attain their goal
14. Teach your client to surround themselves with those who they look up to and can compete with on a healthy level

Remember

1. For many (patients/ clients) being out of there comfort zone is the biggest stumbling block to success. So how do you make it easy for them to succeed? What plan of action can you put in place?
2. Change is uncomfortable and many perceive that the change they have to apply to their lifestyle is greater than their current pain
3. Change will only occur when the desire to change is greater than their resistance to change
4. Your job as a therapist/ coach / personal trainer is to manage that uncomfortable period and reduce the resistance to change

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References
Les Brown (1998) It’s Not Over Until You Win: How To Become the Person You Have Always Wanted To Be, No Matter What the Obstacle
Mike Williams (2008) The Road To Your Best Stuff: Taking Your Career, Business or Cause to the Next Level and Beyond
Paul Chek (2014) Embracing The Change Process Part 1 to Part 5, YouTube video
Tony Robbins (2001) Awaken the Giant Within: How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Life