If a client is concerned about potential setbacks after 3 months of change, what stage are they likely in?

Individuals who are concerned about potential setbacks after three months of change are typically in the maintenance stage. At this point in the change process, they have already made significant alterations to their behavior and are focusing on sustaining these changes over the long term.

Concerns about setbacks during this stage indicate a heightened awareness of the challenges that can arise after initial successes. Maintaining a behavior change requires ongoing commitment and strategies to prevent relapse, which aligns with the client's sentiments. Thus, expressing worry about potential regression suggests an engagement with the realities of long-term change, a hallmark of the maintenance stage.

In contrast, the other stages represent earlier parts of the change process, where the focus is on contemplating change, making preparations, or actively changing behaviors. These do not typically involve the specific concern about maintaining changes and dealing with setbacks that the client is experiencing at this point.