I spend a lot of my time at the university these days working with psychologists and psychotherapists, and one of the things I am always struck by is how much of what they learn could be applied to other healthcare practices, especially professions like physiotherapy. The quote in the title; 'All feedback is projection', for example, was told to me by a psychotherapy colleague who was explaining how it is that people will give you feedback from their own perspective but, more often than not, what they're really doing is projecting their own values and beliefs and its not ever entirely about you. I've thought about that a lot when I've reflected on the advice I've been given by people … [Read more...] about All feedback is projection
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
New: Reflection
There's a phrase that I've come to use over and over again in recent years whenever I've presented at conferences or talked to people about the research I do, and I use it because it beautifully encapsulates what I think is perhaps the main problem now facing the physiotherapy profession. It comes from a book written by a New Zealand doctor who is part European and part Māori. His name is Glenn Colquhoun, and he's written some fantastic books about health care, using poetry and prose to express his ideas (see this link to his work). In one slim volume titled 'Jumping Ship,' Colquhoun describes his experience coming to terms with his Māori heritage. He spent a few years in the far … [Read more...] about New: Reflection