Therapy is a Partnership

Last week I wrote shared that therapy works. This week I write about the necessity and power of the therapeutic partnership.  

Individuals seeking healthcare often take a passive approach to recovery. Our pharmacologically dependent society directs us to “Get a pill to make it go away”.  In therapeutic situations we expect practitioners to, “Do what they do so we will get better.” However, when we delve into this thinking, we know nothing is that easy. Experiencing a quality of life takes work. Recovery takes work. Maintaining and improving our health also takes work. Few things of worth come automatically and if they do, keeping them, also takes work.

At Healthrough Action, we work to create a partnership in recovery and health maintenance. We as practitioners listen to the individuals, educate them about their condition/s and how they can be proactive in addressing the illness and its’ consequences. The skillfulness of the practitioner is essential yet regardless of how skillful a therapist is, without the participation of the “patient”, less will be gained and little will be sustained.  

Ask yourself the following questions. “What does recovery mean for me?”  ”What can I do to help myself feel better?”  “What interferes with my participation in my therapy program or for that matter, managing my overall health?”  When we explore the answers to these questions, together we work to overcome your barriers to restored and sustained health.   

Be your own hero by following a home exercise program and assert your newly learned skills and abilities into your everyday life.  Remember, recovery is measured not by range of motion but by how successfully you re-engage in your life. As Helen Keller said, “Life is an adventure or nothing”.