Change is a constant companion throughout life.  How we manage change plays a major role in our mental health.  Where we are in our change process also plays a critical role in the type of support we need, both from friends and professionals.  As an example, a person who feels no need to change benefits from very different support than a person who is poised on the brink of change and is scared to take the leap - or a person who has gone through an important change and is struggling not to backslide.

Where are you in your own change process?  And what is the nature of the change that you are undergoing?  Both of these questions are central to my counseling approach.  In search of a way to reconcile the many different theoretical approaches in modern psychology, Prochaska and Diclemente (1982) created a therapeutic strategy called the transtheoretical model (TTM).  The TTM breaks change down into stages, and identifies certain approaches that are most appropriate for each stage.  What is novel in this approach, is that it does not treat all clients as though they are the same, or drive them toward a uniform catharsis or behavioral outcome.  Without losing rigor, the TTM allows for flexibility and responsiveness in the counseling process.  

The stages of the TTM echo the same stages used by many indigenous peoples, as well as modern ecopsychological organizations, in crafting rites of passage.  Rites of passage are an ancient cultural technology designed to support change; especially the natural but difficult changes that often bring modern people to a grinding halt: coming of age, beginning and ending career, moving through the stages of relationship and family (marriage, parenthood, empty nest, childhood) grief, aging, healing from trauma, changing roles or identities.  

Treatment Supported Rite of Passage (TSROP) is a program that incorporates the Transtheoretical Model of Change into psychotherapy using a 10-month program that has an immersive, experiential retreat as its centerpiece.  Learn more.   

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Equilibrium

You are not seeking change, nor actively aware of a need.

Contemplation

You are actively weighing the pros and cons of change.

Preparation

You have decided to pursue change, and are seeking support.

Transformation

Your life is in flux; you are actively in the process of changing.

Sustainability

You have achieved change and are working to sustain it.

Keely Owens, LCPC, MA

Keely Owens, LCPC is licensed as a graduate mental health counselor in the state of Maryland, has an MA in Ecopsychology from Naropa University, and an MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.  Keely also has ten years' experience creating and facilitating outdoor workshops. Suburban Grotto is her Washington, DC - based ecopsychology project.  Keely has completed a specialized study in the transtheoretical model of change, and has adapted the theory to encompass ecopsychology principles.  Medicaid and Private-Pay both accepted.  BlueCross BlueShield and Aetna Pending.