Social workers’ experiences of the transtheoretical model of change in involuntary treatment of substance use disorders

Abstract

Substance use disorders (SUDs) lead to changes to the brain, withdrawal symptoms and cravings that contribute to persons with an SUD being unmotivated to enter treatment. This discussion explored how social workers view and experience the use of the transtheoretical model of change as a framework to support the development of internal motivation, and consequently voluntary participation in treatment options. A qualitative approach was followed, guided by a combination of the explorative and descriptive research designs. Non-probability purposive sampling was used to select social work participants. Data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews and subjected to thematic data analysis. Ethical considerations included voluntary participation, informed consent, privacy, anonymity, confidentiality and the management of research data. The findings highlighted the participants’ perceptions and experiences of those aspects within the different stages of the transtheoretical model of change that may support social workers to guide involuntary clients towards a motivation for change.