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I t p a y s t o b e A B M P C e r t i f i e d : w w w. a b m p . c o m / g o / c e r t i f i e d c e n t r a l 111 with abusive behavior. These are a few of the endless mistakes a healer might make. The complexity of our profession makes it incredibly important to discuss how to prevent errors, as well as recover from them. ACCEPTING OUR HUMANITY The baseline for this discussion starts and ends with accepting our humanity. Most healers fi nd this challenging, as health-care providers are often held to a high, if not idealistic, standard. It's important to maintain integrity—to commit to our version of the Hippocratic oath. After all, people often put their lives or well-being in our hands. But frequently, the expectations put on healers are unrealistic, and can be diffi cult to live up to. My mother's attitude toward health- care providers exemplifi es my point. As many people do, she unquestioningly believes medicine alone will cure her of all ills—even in situations better addressed through dietary, emotional, or other lifestyle changes. The worse she feels, the more she expects of her doctors (and frequently, the less she does for herself ). My mother is not alone. As explored in the Journal of Emergencies, Trauma, and Shock, patient expectations of health-care providers—defi ned as the anticipation Our medicine bag of skills must include the ability to manage a client's emotional and spiritual issues, establish boundaries (including fees and schedules), and negotiate reasonable client goals. or belief about what will be encountered—are rising signifi cantly. Patients hold both objective and subjective desires, which are dependent on factors including culture, stress and anxiety, understanding of the problem, and education. 1 I would add to this list communication abilities and the willingness to be self-responsible. THREE TYPES OF MISTAKES How do we cope with this pressure, while accepting our limitations? We consider the three general areas in which we might commit mistakes: skill, knowledge, and rules. 2 Being clear about what we could do wrong may keep us from actually doing it. Skill-based errors occur when we don't have the skills required to deal with a client's problems or perform our job in a healthy manner. When we work on an ailment without proper training, we can potentially injure the client and damage our reputation or legal standing. Improper mechanics can also lead to self-injury. Our medicine bag of skills must include the ability to manage a client's emotional and spiritual issues, establish boundaries (including fees and schedules), and negotiate reasonable client goals. Knowledge-based errors arise when we lack the proper education, background, or knowledge to meet our clients' goals. Mistakes in this area often involve talking ourselves into doing something we don't know how to do, such as assisting with an ailment we've never worked on before or offering a diagnosis when we've no basis for our opinion. Rule-based errors happen when we fail to adhere to professional standards or our own value system. Common protocol includes conducting sessions with appropriate touch and nonsexual interactions. Breaking these rules could lead to breaking the law. Not all rules are a matter of legality, however. Healers commonly suffer from caretaker