Client Empowerment

Motivation to Change

There is an element of self-determination that must be present for empowerment to work. Clients begin to pursue empowerment and accept responsibility both for what they do and what they choose not to do. The entire impetus of change throughout the empowerment process relies on motivation. The more motivated a client is to become empowered, the more likely it will happen. While motivational interviewing (MI) is typically utilized in substance use counseling, it is also a helpful approach when engaging clients in empowerment. MI encourages expressing empathy and avoiding arguments, rolling with resistance, and supporting self-efficacy. Through MI, the counselor holds the client accountable by tactfully guiding them through the process. With experience and ongoing, active effort, clients ultimately take control, succeeding and learning lessons from their shortcomings.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, James Prochaska and Carlo DiClemente developed the transtheoretical model (TTM), which conceptualized the stages clients undergo through the therapeutic process. The stages include precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and, in many cases, relapse. Clients may enter treatment in either one of the first two stages: precontemplation or contemplation. When the client has no intention of changing, they are in the precontemplation stage, and many clients in precontemplation are either unaware of the problem or in denial that one even exists. Contemplation occurs when the client acknowledges the problem but has not committed to change. In the preparation stage, the client makes a commitment to change, and a thoughtful plan is then put into place to begin therapeutic change. The therapeutic plan may take some negotiating and behavioral experimentation before success. When the client actively works on the plan, they are in the action phase. During the action phase, counselors use encouragement and honesty to set the pathway toward maintenance should everything go well. During the maintenance period, sustained change is upheld, and new behaviors replace old ones. Here is where the client goes from developing their empowerment to being empowered. While the goal of maintenance is to continue engaging in positive behaviors, clients may relapse. During the relapse phase, the client may be setback or need to adjust their action plans. After a relapse, clients will likely reenter the cycle and work with a counselor to create a new plan of action.

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