Rating: 
Summary: Still Changed for Good
Review: I wrote a review of this book a number of months ago. It's now been a year of freedom from bulimia, and I really owe it to the advice in this book. The main thing I'd like to thank Dr. Prochaska for is his hammering home that an addiction is a "Big Deal", that changing it will involve restructuring one's life, giving up behaviors, substituting new ones, etc. And that it "never gets any easier." The worst problem in tackling an addiction is the craving-induced belief that "tomorrow it won't be so hard." I found the first two months to be excruciating, but, following the plan of substitute behaviors I had listed for myself, I was able to make it. I was constantly telling myself "it's NOT going to be easier tomorrow." Dr. Prochaska's emphasis on planning one's recovery is invaluable. And I found his emphasis on exercise to be a primary key. Those endorphins from exercising WILL be necessary! Once again, thanks to Dr.P!!
Rating: 
Summary: good idea, but too clinical
Review: James Prochaska is obviously a brilliant psychologist. The ideas of change presented in this book are amazing. The universal process of change presented rings absolutely true and will give you something to think about.
However, as someone who's going through changes, I found little solace or help in this book. It's just too clinical. I've been looking at other Prochaska stuff and it would seem he excels in the area of academia. For practical purposes, this book just left me feeling unhelped and too on my own. My opinion is that the book would do better written in less clinical terms, with some exercises you can take with you and think about. When you're going through changes, you need someone to walk beside you, not some academic telling you how it should be.
Still, can't deny the basic idea is brilliant.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Resource on Behavior Change
Review: This book is amazing! Prochaska and his colleagues have profound insight on behavior change from years of research, including interviews with everyday people. This book is a great resource for students or professionals new to the area of behavior change. Yet, it is also useful for anyone trying to make a change in their own life for personal gain.I have used this book for both academic and personal benefit and found it easy to read and practical. It explains the stages of change and gives examples of what others have gone through. This book is not based on hearsay or a passing fad in science, it is based on sound, time-tested research principles. It may be slightly advanced for those who are only beginning to think about changing a behavior, but individuals who are serious about change should find it very useful.
Rating:
Summary: "I knew that..."
Review: This book is both revolutionary and profoundly familiar. Change happens not all at once, but in progressive stages, and there are unique tasks that must be accomplished for each stage. It's like gardening--starts with tilling the soil, adding compost, laying out the beds, planting, etc. It would be absurd to simply arrive at the untilled garden patch and shout, "I want tomatoes!" It is also a mistake to try to change oneself before the preliminary work is done. The book is particularly useful in talking about the earliest stages, which the authors call the Precontemplative ("I don't have a problem") and Contemplative ("Ok, maybe I have a problem, but there's nothing I can do about it") stages. One of the clearest and most practical books I have read, for either therapists and self-changers.
Rating:
Summary: The last self-help book you'll need
Review: This book offers a structure for understanding the process of voluntary self-change. With it, you have much more understanding of where you are and what you need to do next, and you have a much better chance of success. The highest possible recommendation.
Rating:
Summary: Real practical help!
Review: This book provides us with real practical help about what we can do to change our deeply rooted habits in our everyday lives. It guides us along the way, step by step, so that if you have the real intention and you really understand this book, there is no way you won't succeed. The steps are not that easy but each little step along the way will give you a feeling that you are making some progress. Some of them may even seem like failed steps but it is never a failure unless you fail to learn from it. Another very useful and positive book on this subject is "The Ever-Transcending Spirit" by Toru Sato. This tremendous book is less practically oriented and more theoretical but it gives us a better outlook on almost everything we face in our lives. I recommend these books for people who are really interested in improving themselves and their whole outlook on life.
Rating:
Summary: Don't call it denial anymore-that doesn't help!
Review: This easily explains why some people can stop behaviors, while others cannot. I have worked with criminal offenders for over 10 years and have begun incorportating the step by step techniques described in this book to all of our programming for offenders. It also helped me to begin something that I have wanted to do, but always found excuses to avoid. The book is simple to read, with personal stories to illustrate each point. Whether you would like to quit smoking, drinking, or want to start an excercise program, you must read this book. Understanding the change process will help you move to a point where doing "something different" becomes possible.
Rating:
Summary: Clinical, yes, but still makes sense!
Review: This is a wonderful book--one of the few you'll want to keep referring to time after time. It forces you to look at what "stage" you're stuck in and why and how to break out of it. Change isn't easy! But like most everything, most of the things we do are strictly from habit, and habits CAN be broken! This book will provide the incentive and the knowledge you'll need to break whatever habit(s) it is you need freedom from. I plan on buying several copies of this book and giving it to friends for Christmas--I think its invaluable. Highly recommend it!
Rating:
Summary: A self-help book that suggests realistic change
Review: Too many self-help psychology books make changing one's life seem too easy and "Pollyannaish" on one hand or act like a cheerleader's guide on the other to make one feel good. Prochaska, et al, has created a book on change that does not tell one HOW to change but gives the reader the needed understanding about how he or she might utilize their own perceptions along with the authors' conceptualiztions to effect change in their lives. With great honesty about how difficult real change is, the authors provide the framework for change if the reader is willing to supply the "grit." An excellent, well-written, and timely book
Rating:
Summary: A self-help book that suggests realistic change
Review: Too many self-help psychology books make changing one's life seem too easy and "Pollyannaish" on one hand or act like a cheerleader's guide on the other to make one feel good. Prochaska, et al, has created a book on change that does not tell one HOW to change but gives the reader the needed understanding about how he or she might utilize their own perceptions along with the authors' conceptualiztions to effect change in their lives. With great honesty about how difficult real change is, the authors provide the framework for change if the reader is willing to supply the "grit." An excellent, well-written, and timely book
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