ABSTRACT

As clinicians we have to be very wary of the assumptions we often unwittingly make about a particular person’s motivation for change. We do the job we do because we place a high premium on health and may presume, mistakenly, that others do too. We know the types of behavioural change that would be of most benefi t so it is very easy to imply overtly or covertly that this person ought to make changes right now. We might even believe that they really want to change without doing one important thing – checking with them fi rst. Frustrating as it may initially seem, some people are happy to glory on in the same vein day after day.