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. 2022 Nov 25;11(11):e40817. doi: 10.2196/40817

Table 1.

Activities and behavioral change techniques for section 1 (preparing for change).

Module and activities Behavioral change techniquesa
Section 1 (preparing for change)

1. Introduction


  • Complete cannabis use diary

  • Select personal reasons for changing cannabis use

  • Read about prevalence of cannabis use and CUDb

  • Self-monitoring of behavior

  • Social, personal, and emotional consequences (MIc)

  • Normative feedback

  • Provide contingent rewards (badge)


2. Cannabis dependence


  • Read information about CUD

  • Self-assessment of severity of dependence

  • Provide information on consequences

  • Monitoring with awareness or feedback on behavior


3. Cannabis myths


  • Evaluate knowledge about health effects of cannabis consumption

  • Self-assessment of cannabis use consequences

  • Provide information about behavior-health link

  • Health, social, and emotional consequences or monitoring with awareness (MI)


4. Benefits of reducing


  • Select perceived benefits (eg, social, cognitive, and emotional) of decreasing cannabis use

  • Prioritize these benefits

  • Prompt positive self-talk

  • MI (preparatory change talk)


5. Believe in your strengths


  • Self-evaluate psychological strengths (eg, wisdom, bravery, and moderation)

  • Read a personalized feedback based on their strengths

  • Focus on past success

  • Mental rehearsal of successful performance

  • Prompt self-talk

  • MI (preparatory change talk)


6. Triggers


  • Identify personal cannabis consumption triggers (eg, social, activities, and emotional)

  • Select the most important triggers

  • Read strategies about dealing with triggers

  • Provide information

  • Avoiding or changing exposure to cues for the behavior

  • Monitoring with awareness or relapse prevention

  • Provide contingent rewards (badge)


7. Withdrawal


  • Watch an educational video about withdrawal symptoms

  • Select experienced withdrawal symptoms

  • Identify preferred coping strategies

  • Provide information

  • Skills training with focus on withdrawal symptoms

  • Monitoring with awareness or relapse prevention

  • Prompt behavioral practice


8. Craving


  • Watch an educational video about craving symptoms

  • Select experienced craving symptoms

  • Read craving coping strategies

  • Identify preferred coping strategies

  • Provide information

  • Skills training with focus on craving symptoms

  • Monitoring with awareness or relapse prevention

  • Prompt behavioral practice


9. Cannabis and psychosis


  • Education about cannabis and medication in psychosis

  • Watch 2 video testimonials about the effects of cannabis in psychosis

  • Report their perceptions related to the effects of cannabis on psychotic symptoms

  • Identify preferred psychotic symptoms coping strategies

  • Provide information

  • Social comparison

  • Monitoring with awareness

  • Prompt behavioral practice


10. Choose a cannabis use goal


  • Read a summary of all reasons and capacities of changing

  • Chose a cannabis use goal: stop, decrease, or maintain current use

  • Decide on a plan to reduce or stop cannabis use (eg, date)

  • Select cannabis harm reduction strategies

  • MI

  • Prompt cannabis use goal setting or action planning and commitment

  • Provide general encouragement

  • Provide contingent rewards (badge)


Supplementary module: return to objective


  • Follow-up on their objective defined in module 10. This module can be offered for a maximum of 2 times once participants start section 2.

  • Prompt barrier identification

  • Relapse prevention

  • Provide general encouragement

  • Prompt review of behavioral goals

aCorresponding to the taxonomy of behavior change techniques published by Abraham and Michie [49] and Michie et al [50].

bCUD: cannabis use disorder.

cMI: motivational interviewing.