Changing for Good Paperback – 24 April 2007

I have been looking for a book on motivation and how REALLY to get rid of unwanted habits, such as procrastination. This is it!!!! If you want to give up smoking, lose weight, stop procrastinating, or change any other habit for good, this book shows you how to go about it, with examples and a clear process.It is based on real world research and gives a 7 stage process for change from pre-contemplation - basically, where you deny there is any problem and "rubbish" any comments or articles by others, right through to termination, where the problem has been changed completely and no longer bothers you.It is also an interesting book to read and well written.

This book is great! I used to work in the substance misuse field and we were always taught the very basics behind the 'cycle of change'. And I thought I understood the concept. And yet there were almost as many questions about change and the use of the cycle of change. Then I found this very readable book THE book that started it all. And I wondered why no one ever gave me the book to read. It is brilliant and everyone who is interested in making changes whether it's personal or professional. In the world of 'self help' books this one seems to be forgotten. You owe it to yourself to read this one.

I read this to gain a an insight into change as per the heading and although I think it was a little repetitive it offers great understanding and tips for anyone having to make changes and I would recommend this to anyone having t deal with change or feeling frustrated in not managing to maintain or begin change

Excellent manual for changing addictive behaviours based on thorough research. Though written in 1998, it is very relevant today. I went into this book blind and was pleasantly surprised to stumble upon a gem. Put this in your must-read list, you'll find it invaluable at one point or another in your life.

An excellent book, for health promotion in nursing , I used it for smoking cessation, but it's good for other addictive behaviors. It is perfect book for students who r using trans theoretical model or the other name "stages of change "

Still working through it & I find it very helpful. Of course, it won’t be for everyone, but in my view defiantley worth a try!

This book was delivered fast. However I am struggling to carry on reading the book as its not as engaging.

Its an old, old book but its great for Public Health especially in regards to smoking cessation as it was what the theory was developed around. Have used in assignments around public health

Are you ready to change your life? These six stages will show you where you are and how to get to the next step. A necessary book for coaches, counselors and teachers.

awesome book by professionals for addiction of various kinds.I would add- get also a copy of Alcoholics Anoymous Basic text Book also -which has 3 million sober members worldwide and which has been said to be one of the books that changed America ( for addiction to alcohol).The programme of theirs is recommended by most professionals worldwide.I found out about AA from this "Changing for good book" and researched AA in google, so I could post a review which can help people around the world.

Truly useful manual based on compelling evidence to produce the change we want and need in our lives. Especially useful for smokers, dieters and anyone who wants to shed a bad habit.

Unless you are (or think you are) the ultimate, paradigmatic exemplar of Peter Drucker's "Effective Executive", you can probably think of a thing or two you would like to change about yourself. Certainly, CEOs and other top executives tend not to be heavy drinkers, heavy smokers, or simply very heavy, so you may be looking to change one of those behaviors. Or perhaps you find yourself making poor decisions because of long-standing impatience, arrogance, or inability to tolerate uncertainty. Perhaps an executive coach has identified a characteristic that you agree is less than optimal for your own career and for your organization's performance. Yet, like organizational change, personal change is hard. Reliable guidelines have been lacking for either kind of change. The authors of Changing for Good make a strong case for having developed a more scientifically sound approach to personal change.Clinical psychologist James Prochaska and his colleagues studied the many strategies self-changers used to quit smoking, stop drinking, and lose weight. These researchers faced a challenge in figuring out what works and what doesn't for people attempting to change: over 400 distinct systems of psychotherapy now offer a helping hand. Each school relies on at least one, but often several, specific techniques. One group of people who were quitting smoking, Prochaska discovered, were using more than 130 different techniques. Anyone wanting to identify the most effective methods to change an unhealthy behavior would quickly become overwhelmed with options and confused by competing claims.In 1975, Lester Luborsky, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, had published research showing that all generally accepted psychological therapies produced practically equivalent positive outcomes. Prochaska thought that if he could uncover what the therapies had in common, perhaps he could integrate them. After puzzling over his transtheoretical data, Prochaska realized that all those energetic disputes over causes, and all the diversity of techniques, concealed an underlying simplicity in the processes of change which described how change is produced. His final roster of processes of change included nine members: consciousness-raising, social liberation, emotional arousal, self-reevaluation, commitment, countering, environment control, rewards, and helping relationships.By tuning in to what self-changers told him, Prochaska also discerned several distinct stages of change: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and termination. Enduring success at change requires that you know what stage you are in for the problem you want to overcome. "The key to success is the appropriately timed use of a variety of coping skills." The right processes should be used for each stage of change. Knowing the stage for the change at issue is the crucial element. Once you know that, you can deploy the relevant process, each of which can work through a variety of techniques such as observations, bibliotherapy, policy interventions, psychodrama, role playing, value clarification, imagery, decision-making therapy, logotherapy, relaxation, desensitization, environmental restructuring, contingency contracts, and social support.As Prochaska and co-authors explain in detail, self-changers who tried to apply a technique suited for one process would be frustrated if that process were irrelevant to their current stage. You wouldn't get anywhere applying reinforcement techniques brilliantly designed for the process of reward if you were still in the precontemplation or contemplation stages. On the other hand, behaviorist techniques of reward and environment control could be effective if you were in the maintenance phase. If you were in the contemplation phase, where you accept that you need to make a change but still need to understand more about it, you should use change processes associated with the experiential, cognitive, and psychoanalytic traditions. These would include methods for self-reevaluation, countering dysfunctional thoughts, and emotional arousal. Improving the chances of successful change, Prochaska had shown, depended on matching processes and stages of change--a discovery whose breakthrough nature has been proven repeatedly ever since.

Good buy !