Facilitating Behavior Change: Strategies for Education and Practice

Abstract

This paper develops an argument for the inclusion of brief disease prevention counseling into the training curricula of physical therapists. Cited literature suggests that practicing therapists are likely not taking full advantage of concepts from behavior theory that can guide prevention counseling. Those concepts, along with the Brief Prevention Counseling Model, are described and applied to a case scenario. In addition, the knowledge, skills, and attitude components of a counseling curriculum, including their assessment, are discussed.