Unmet expectations can lead to upset….

In our relationships with others I find it to be true that the cause of upset is often unmet expectations AND those expectations likely were not communicated. Over the holidays I experienced a wonderfully good example of this. My 8 year old daughter, Cora, in her excitement for the holidays, had planned family activities everyday for 1 week. PJs and Christmas movies, Holiday books and hot tub, Box-building day to name a few.  Unfortunately each day as we started Cora’s activities she would get very upset. She told me we weren’t doing the activities right. It turns out that she expected us to spend the entire day at home doing the activities and I had planned other things to do as well. It turns out that Cora’s “why” for these activities was that she was craving family time in our home. Once I understood her expectations through understanding the “why” behind it, I was able to better meet her expectations, grow closer with her and enjoy some pretty great activities with a little girl who felt heard and appreciated. Once we had communicated out expectations clearly, we were able to come together even closer as a family. 

This unmet expectations upset can also occur in the therapeutic relationship between Client and Physiotherapist. Knowing that communication can support this relationship and avoid upset, I offer you the reasons why I offer my services in the way that I do:

• I believe that we all have the ability to heal
• I believe that the key to healing is learning to listen to the messages our body and mind send us
• I believe this ability is strengthened when we feel heard, seen, and acknowledged by our Physiotherapist. 
• People don’t need to be fixed, they need to be seen!

These underlying “whys” or truths guide how I offer my physiotherapy services:

• I spend time one on one with each client. Each session is 1 hour long so I can hear my client’s experiences, see their movements, and acknowledge the connection between the two. 
• I guide people through therapeutic movements, breath work, and mindfulness 
• I DO NOT look for the physical problem in a person so I can try to fix it by stretching, strengthening, mobilizing, exercising, and applying therapeutic modalities like ultrasound, TENS and laser.
• I engage in meaningful conversations with people so I can better understand the uniqueness of each person and offer individualized exercise programs designed to support them in listening to their body and mind.
• I DO NOT give people templated home exercise programs based on a diagnosis