Chemical Dependency Counselor Exam 2025 – 400 Free Practice Questions to Pass the Exam

The term that refers to the continuation of desirable actions after achieving goals is maintenance. In the context of behavioral change, maintenance is a critical stage in models such as the Transtheoretical Model (Stages of Change), where an individual works to sustain the positive changes they have made. This phase involves strategies to prevent relapse and ensure that the changes become a permanent part of a person's lifestyle.

In behavioral health, maintenance is essential because achieving a goal is often just the first step; maintaining that new behavior requires ongoing effort, support, and possibly new strategies to handle challenges that arise in the environment. The process emphasizes not only the importance of initial changes but also how sustaining those changes affects long-term well-being.

The other options refer to different stages or actions related to behavior change: action indicates the active pursuit of change, pre-contemplation suggests a lack of awareness or interest in change, and contemplation implies considering the possibility of change but not yet taking action. Each of these represents distinct points in the journey of behavior modification, but maintenance specifically focuses on sustaining the improvements achieved.