Changing Behaviours

A danger of being a Health Professional is that we do have relevant knowledge about Health Issues. We do have expertise, we do know best! “Preaching” to the patient or client, telling them about heart disease, the many cancers, peripheral vascular disease and other dangers associated with tobacco use, may work for some practitioners with some clients. But chances are it will not be the most successful strategy for most clients to stop smoking and to STAY STOPPED. There is a substantial body of knowledge now available on how and why people change behaviours. Unfortunately, practice does not always follow the theory. We Health Professionals all tend to think that everyone should stop smoking because of the dangers associated with the activity, and that all smokers View the rest of this article