Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1509769
A B M P m e m b e r s ea r n F R E E C E h o u r s by rea d i n g t h i s i s s u e ! 79 biases. They suggest we ask ourselves, "When I see patients who are overweight, do I automatically assume they are inactive, have a poor diet, are uneducated, or are lazy?" Our ability to be with the truth that many of us do make these assumptions is the beginning of behavior change. We don't have to say these things out loud for them to impact the care we provide. Noticing and then interrupting these thoughts is essential. Moving through our biases is also key to another aspect of care that is so valuable for people who have experienced weight stigma their whole lives. When we can see the clients as whole people, it makes room for us to bring compassion to the impact of the multiple traumatic experiences they have likely had with other health-care providers. It's tough to bring a trauma-informed lens to our work when some part of us believes that trauma was deserved. Our judgment can hinder our ability to bring the kind of healing presence and listening that can help a person who has likely been traumatized by previous health-care encounters feel seen and valued. Kennedy writes, "Compassionate care of patients who are overweight or obese includes acknowledging the whole person, identifying your own biases, practicing patient-centered communication, creating a welcoming environment, and pursuing lifelong learning." This last piece is not to be missed. We don't learn a few things about how to be welcoming to people in larger bodies and then decide we've arrived. We need to commit to a lifelong investment in learning about ourselves, our biases, and what it means to create belonging. Notes 1. AMA, "AMA Adopts New Policy Clarifying Role of BMI as a Measure in Medicine," June 14, 2023, www.ama-assn.org/press-center/ press-releases/ama-adopts-new-policy- clarifying-role-bmi-measure-medicine. 2. Adele Jackson-Gibson, Good Housekeeping, "The Racist and Problematic History of the Body Mass Index," February 23, 2021, www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/diet- nutrition/a35047103/bmi-racist-history. 3. Zara Abrams, "The Burden of Weight Stigma," Monitor on Psychology 53, No. 2 (March 2022): 52, www.apa.org/ monitor/2022/03/news-weight-stigma. 4. Sharon M. Fruh et al., "Obesity Stigma and Bias," The Journal for Nurse Practitioners 12, no. 7 (July-August 2016): 425–32, https:// pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28408862. 5. Ann Blair Kennedy et al., "Ending the Stigma: Improving Care for Patients Who Are Overweight or Obese," Family Practice Management 29, no. 2 (2022): 21–5, https:// pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35290004. Accommodating Your Clients While there is plenty of work to be done inside each of us, there are also practical things you can do now to shift your practice away from one of "average body" privilege. • Have furniture in your waiting and treatment rooms that is comfortable for patients in larger bodies. • Use appropriately sized equipment, including sheets that are large enough to comfortably cover larger bodies. • Choose reading materials that feature a variety of (rather than idealized) bodies and healthy lifestyles. Want to better understand if you have bias related to weight? Take the Implicit Association Test (it's free!) at https://implicit.harvard.edu/ implicit/takeatest.html. Check out Healwell's online course (1 CE) called "What Are We Going to Do About the Weight? Weight Stigma in Health Care" at https:// online.healwell.org/courses/weight- stigma. Cal Cates is an educator, writer, and speaker on topics ranging from massage therapy in the hospital setting to end- of-life care and massage therapy policy and regulation. A founding director of the Society for Oncology Massage from 2007–2014 and current executive director and founder of Healwell, Cates works within and beyond the massage therapy community to elevate the level of practice and integration of massage overall and in health care specifically. Cates also is the co- creator of the podcasts Massage Therapy Without Borders and Interdisciplinary.