TPC Journal V7, Issue 2 - FULL ISSUE

110 The Professional Counselor | Volume 7, Issue 2 that this was the first time she had sat down and reflected on her health and well-being, and though she was not sure it was necessarily helpful, she was willing to try anything to stop feeling “blah.” Following the discussion on the wellness primer, group members worked on developing a wellness plan for the areas they wanted to improve. To close the session, the counselor discussed with the members ways to begin working on their goals in incremental steps and noted different ways they had started addressing those steps. After learning about the stages of change from the TTM in the third session, Polly was animated about which stage she was on in relation to her goal of exercising more. She shared that she had been stuck on the contemplative stage of change for more years than she could count. She stated that she wanted to lose weight but could not seem to motivate herself to walk before her shift started. Amelia stated that she wanted to eat better and classified herself as being in the pre-contemplative stage of change. She reported that she needed to eat better because she relied too often on caffeine and sugary foods to keep her going throughout the work day. Several of the group members expressed hope in knowing that they were not just “being lazy,” but were in a process of change. Amelia stated that just knowing that gave her a boost of energy. After checking in during the fourth session and finding out where everyone was with their goals, the counselor led a discussion on the MI concept of ambivalence. Polly found this a little challenging, as she just wanted to list the pros and cons of her new health goals: exercising and eating better. Once she understood that she was to list both the benefits and costs of continuing her current behavior versus enacting her new health goal, she became more involved in the activity. As a result, Polly listed some pros of walking in the morning as being “it centers me as I release some of the frustration from the day before,” and “I use this time to organize my mind for the upcoming tasks for the day.” Amelia stated that some of her cons for not changing her behavior included “crashing hard around 4 p.m. in the afternoon” and “losing focus when working with patients.” For the fifth session, a discussion centered around Duhigg’s (2012) book, The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business , and how members could apply the principle of cue, reward and routine to help them achieve their goals. Polly stated that she started putting her walking shoes out with her exercise clothes so that she could immediately see them when she woke up (cue). She would play her favorite podcast while walking (routine), and reward herself with a small low- calorie pastry for breakfast (reward). Amelia stated that she started to place almonds and other energy-boosting snacks at the nurses’ station so she could easily see them (cue), then would snack on those items while talking with colleagues (routine). As a result, she felt her energy lasting longer throughout the day (reward). The nurses enjoyed reframing their previous “relapses” in the sixth session. Amelia reported that she was aware it was normal to move back and forth between the stages and that this knowledge alleviated concerns about failure. The group had a lively discussion about what triggers or pitfalls stood in their way and what places or things they should avoid as a result. For example, Polly stated that if she hit the “snooze button,” she would stay in bed and forgo her walk. Realizing this, she opted to place her alarm clock across the room so that she would have to get out of bed to turn off the alarm. The seventh session on stressors became more emotional than anticipated as many of the nurses talked about their work and the unique stress they experience when taking care of ill and terminally ill patients. The group members talked about their thoughts and feelings and supported one another