A collaborative Process

In the new year I embarked on an on-line Cognitive Behavioural Training (CBT) programme to try to solve my sleeping difficulties. Taking part in a course of treatment as the Patient has really made me think about how we 'deliver' Osteopathy at Dunelm Osteopaths.

I have realised that one of the things we believe in strongly is a collaborative approach to treatment. Ideally we listen to your story, examine your musculo-skeletal system and try to get an understanding of your values the first time that we meet you. However this is quite a tall order in an hour, so subsequent treatments will always carry on the conversation about what is happening; How do we both see your progress, what's going well and what's difficult or challenging to accept or achieve. We accept that the delivering Osteopathic treatment our job but we still want you to be part of the process in understanding what we are trying to achieve from each treatment session.

As Osteopaths we are very aware that we do not heal people, they do that themselves, but we can help to encourage their body's own ability to achieve wellbeing. We try to constantly expand our knowledge base so that we can find an approach that suits each individual, but we need each individual to guide us in how to do that.

There is a Mindfulness metaphor that we are all climbing our own individual mountain. We can look across and see other people on their mountains and sometimes see foot and hand holds that they cannot because we have the benefit of some particular knowledge or experience. So we can attempt to guide the person up that bit of their mountain, but we cannot climb it for them. I'm hoping that once you've been to Dunelm Osteopaths you will feel that we are providing the climbing harness and helmet, weather report and confidence to climb to health. However we need you to do the climbing and report on local conditions. (For mountain please feel free to use your own metaphor, I like a sailing analogy, others may go for football, baking, gardening...)

Oh and yes the CBT programme worked very well thanks for asking, more about it later!