While working on a geriatric psych unit, I cared for a variety of patients. Many of the patients were pre-contemplators, due to the amount of dementia patients.
For this discussion we are asked to talk about a patient that was cared for in a clinical environment, but I would really like to discuss a person that I dealt with in my personal life. I have known this person for almost 16 years, I have watched them evolve from the pre-contemplation stage, through the contemplation stage and now they are currently in the preparation stage. It took more than 10 years from them to acknowledge that there was an issue. While their drug of choice is not illegal, it still causes changes in their personality and actions. For whatever reasons when this person consumes an excessive amount of sugar, they will have outburst of anger and often erratic behaviors, similar to someone using illegal drugs. This first 10 years or so that he was in the pre-contemplation stage was extremely difficult as many difficult conversations were had with no resolution until he was ready to admit there was an issue.
The preparation stage is the third stage of the continuum (Raihan & Cogburn, 2023). During this change, the person will acknowledge that their behaviors are causing problems for them but also for people involved in their life (Raihan & Cogburn, 2023). During this stage the person is commitment to making a change to correcting these behaviors (Raihan & Cogburn, 2023). During this stage the person will acknowledge that the benefits of change far outweigh the cons (Raihan & Cogburn, 2023). It is important that the person gather information on ways to assist with their change and how to prevent relapses. Without sufficient gathering of information in preparation, the person is likely to fail (Raihan & Cogburn, 2023).
I know that this person gathered a lot of information, such as listening to self-help books, following YouTube channels that assisted in his changes and were beneficial and informative.
While I didn’t have the issue with maintain professional relationship for this person, it was important that I provide support. My nursing background and the knowledge gained from previous employments allowed for the absence of countertransference. When having a personal relationship with a person dealing with mental issues, countertransference is almost a certainty. I was able to display empathy and support that allowed this person to finally acknowledge the problem and work their way the continuum. While we know that we will be care for patients that struggle with behavior change, we also to acknowledge and remember that we also might deal with this on a personal level.
Raihan, N., & Cogburn, M. (2023, March 6). Stages of change theory. PubMed; StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK556005/