This paper examines second-order change in the life of a sixteen-year-old girl of Mexican descent, referred to as Esperanza, who seeks counseling following a miscarriage. Using the Transtheoretical Model of Change (TTM), the paper traces Esperanza's progression through the five stages of change — precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance — as she returns to school, navigates cultural and family pressures, and ultimately develops a new set of life goals centered on education and social service. The case illustrates how culturally sensitive counseling strategies can facilitate lasting behavioral transformation in adolescent clients.
Second-order changes are difficult but are regarded as lasting rather than superficial, as second-order change involves the development of a new set of goals and rules for how one lives life within the context of change (Fall, Holder & Marquis, 2003, p. 397). Utilizing the concepts of the Transtheoretical Model of Change (TTM), one can identify the five stages of change that must take place within the mind and life of an individual who is in need of a behavioral change. The five stages of change, according to the TTM, are precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance. From a counseling point of view, each of these stages requires the utilization of specific tools and assistance for the agent of change.
This paper first briefly describes each stage of change and touches on the counseling goals of the various stages, then describes the application of the TTM to produce a second-order change within an individual — in this case, a teenage girl of Mexican descent who has successfully mastered a change as a result of a life-changing experience: losing a child in a miscarriage (Petrocelli, 2002, p. 22).
The sixteen-year-old girl, shortly after losing her child, developed a sense that there must be a better way to live her life and that she had potential that would have gone unfulfilled if she had become a young mother and proceeded to raise a family. The girl, whom we will call Esperanza, sought assistance from a local non-profit counseling service at the precontemplative stage of change. Esperanza had a clear sense of the need to develop a life goal that would lead her to a better outcome, but she was unaware of what that change needed to be.
The counselor she met with helped Esperanza understand that one of the best ways she could create change in her life would be to return to school and complete her high school education, and possibly pursue more. The counselor then offered her tools in the form of contact information for the public high school in her area and offered to call her mother to discuss the importance of returning to school and completing her diploma. Through this phone call, the counselor became more aware of the cultural and social pressures Esperanza faced and developed a sense of empathy for her situation.
The mother was resistant at first, as she felt that the father of the baby Esperanza had just lost was a good provider — though he was much older than Esperanza — and she feared that Esperanza would likely lose this relationship if she returned to school. She eventually agreed to assist Esperanza in her bid to go back to school, provided that Esperanza consented to working a part-time job to help support the family and cover school-related costs.
Esperanza was ready to move on to the contemplative stage of change and begin the process of understanding what her new responsibilities would entail if she returned to school. She had completed her eighth-grade year with passing grades, though she had felt isolated at her previous school, as there were only a few ESL Spanish-speaking students and only three were from Mexico. Esperanza had to be assured that there was a larger population of ESL students at the high school she would attend and that there was, in fact, a Latino Club whose members could be allies in her new role. The counselor obtained the contact information for the faculty advisor of the Latino Club at Esperanza's new school and passed it along to her.
"Esperanza enrolls and begins her new class schedule"
"Counselor helps Esperanza manage setbacks and avoid relapse"
"Esperanza achieves lasting educational and personal growth"
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