Which is an appropriate application of the stages of change by a wellness professional?

• A. Selecting interventions to help progress the client through each stage
• B. Classifying the client by their stage of change for insurance purposes
• C. Deciding which type of exercise the client will find most enjoyable
• D. Determining how much time the professional should spend with the client

Answer: (A)

Stages of change are used to tailor interventions to a client’s readiness to change, guiding how a wellness professional helps move them from one stage to the next. The best choice applies this by selecting interventions that match the client’s current stage and are designed to progress them through each stage—raising awareness in early stages, helping weigh pros and cons, creating concrete plans, supporting action, and planning for maintenance and relapse prevention. This stage-matched approach is what makes the intervention effective across the change process.

Classifying a client for insurance purposes isn’t the aim of the model; it relates more to billing than to guiding behavior change. Choosing an exercise type based on personal enjoyment is important, but it doesn’t focus on the client’s readiness to change or the staged strategies that move them forward. Deciding how much time to spend with the client is a practical consideration, not a reflection of using the stages to drive behavior change.