Three years ago I stepped away from my teaching job in the physiotherapy programme here at AUT University, in Auckland, New Zealand, to manage a team of psychology and psychotherapy lecturers and researchers. The secondment comes to an end in a few weeks time and it's given me an opportunity to reflect on what it's like working with people who think and work completely differently to physios. The first thing that struck me about my time with the 'psy' disciplines is how little time physios actually spend thinking about what they do. Personal therapy and supervision are absolutely intrinsic to the profession, and no-one here believes that you can be a mindful practitioner without also … [Read more...] about Lessons learned from leaving physiotherapy
Looking at physiotherapy through fresh eyes
A few months ago I moved to a new job. Having been part of the Physiotherapy Department at AUT for the last 15 years, I moved into a new school at the start of the year, and the new school put me in close proximity to psychologists, psychotherapists and counsellors. My job has involved getting to know how they think and work, and trying to organise the day-to-day business of teaching and learning for these professionals who think very differently to the physiotherapists I have worked with for so long. Working with these people has given me new perspectives on ways people think about health care, students, patients, other professions, and the things that are customary and commonplace. … [Read more...] about Looking at physiotherapy through fresh eyes