Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1464088
L i s te n to T h e A B M P Po d c a s t a t a b m p.co m /p o d c a s t s o r w h e reve r yo u a cce s s yo u r favo r i te p o d c a s t s 87 TAKEAWAY: Taking a "learn something" approach to a client's treatment reflects a true partnership between therapist and client, and creates the potential for constant personal and professional growth for both parties. understandably thrilled. At some point, a new challenge happens that surpasses the client's ability to navigate it effectively. The strategies initially employed after the first session do not fully address the new challenges. Sound familiar?" "You bet," she replied. "In your second and subsequent sessions, new strategies for addressing conflict are explored and employed. While you as a therapist can never fully anticipate the challenges your client might face, the task is to give them additional capacity to handle whatever might come their way. When new challenges arrive, you are there to provide both comfort and counsel." "I totally get that," she said. "As obvious as this sounds when you explain it, I realize that I had a different model in my mind for this kind of work." "How so?" I asked. "In all the health-care environments I have experienced, the approach has been more like a 'fix-it' model than a 'learn something' model. I guess I applied the same to my work with you. In a way, that's surprising, because as you pointed out, my own work with people is much more process-oriented," she said. "I think that's a great word to describe what happens— it is about a process, not an event." From that point, my work with this client changed; or perhaps shifted is the better word. There have been some ups and downs, a few twists and turns, but the overall trend is markedly in a much better direction. By her account, her symptoms have improved about 80 percent, and she no longer gets discouraged when there are minor setbacks. This process mirrors the overwhelming majority of my clients who present with difficult musculoskeletal issues. There are improvements and setbacks. Conveying this process to clients is vitally important; expecting miraculous and lasting results from one or two sessions is far from reality. Few things in life are like that. In the "fix-it" model, the client is the passive recipient of ministrations from the therapist. Perhaps the most important benefit of the "learn something" model is the potential for full engagement, commitment, and empowerment from the client, reflecting a true partnership between the therapist and the client. This model of treatment also creates the potential for constant personal and professional growth for both therapist and client. We become not only better therapists, but better people as well. Douglas Nelson is the founder and principal instructor for Precision Neuromuscular Therapy Seminars, president of the 20-therapist clinic BodyWork Associates in Champaign, Illinois, and past president of the Massage Therapy Foundation. His clinic, seminars, and research endeavors explore the science behind this work. Visit pnmt.org or email him at doug@pnmt.org.