Here we are, mid-way through this year of 2021, a time still bringing upheaval and change on many levels. No sooner have vaccine protocols been put into place and herd immunity is on the gallop to our doorsteps, than the pendulum takes a deep swing in another direction. We are now being bombarded with news of accusations and proofs at the international level of the circumstances that have influenced the world’s current health crisis.
How should we be reacting?
I’m unsure about you, yet for myself it’s been a while since the impact of these world events has pushed my adrenaline buttons.
It’s all about riding the tides of life, all part of a world I’m now not taking as seriously as before.
And why is this?
Should I not be sitting in horror as we see these unfolding events? I’m choosing to join forces with the many who are striving to raise our self-awareness and consciousness to the point where we’re actualizing new realities and knowing that it’s up to us now to rebuild and configure our environments to be more self-sufficient, more collectively outspoken and more proactive insofar as our needs and those of our communities.
Whilst we are hearing major international change is looming, we are also realizing the deep changes in the ‘clientscape’ within our communities. We must align ourselves not only with yet to be announced major changes, but with our emerging client of the future. To visualize this, let’s imagine COVID (2020-2021) as the middle part or filling within the two layers of a sandwich, with the past as one of the outer layers, which we know well, and the future the opposite outer side layer; as we move forward in time, this future is becoming increasingly more apparent.
Our client of the future is rooted in the same expectation for exceptional professional services that we have shown in the past. Yet, while in ‘lockdown’ our client has now acquired the ability and perhaps experience of seeking services online for all kinds of health-related issues. She or he is now being exposed to the vast variety of multidisciplinary and coordinated health services at their disposal through easy-to-use online applications and websites, as well as online consultations with health care professionals.
Drawing a parallel with the Western Medical office visit, your doctor of the past took to complicated medical reference books to research drug interactions and other diagnostical manuals for treatment protocols. Technology has evolved, and as we emerge from COVID, the same doctor is accessing the information with specialized software to help with assessment, treatment options, prescribing medication for the client and ultimately using updated best practices. While the inquisitive client can find similar, but far less complete information, through an Internet search – or by downloading a specialized medical applications, many of which are of very high quality and free, there is no substitute for medical attention and many online articles are notoriously unreliable.
For our more holistic client base, it is safe to say there has always been interest in acquiring knowledge about one’s health. Yet nowadays, the availability of continually upgraded information is commonplace.
Let’s review these online resources in the form of applications, websites and even online chats. Are they useful, are they appropriate in all cases, can they be misleading to the client, or may the client misunderstand some aspect? Yes and No are good answers to each of these questions.
Yet, one thing seems certain: if we compare the time and effort required to update and publicize written medical volumes with the time and effort required to input and or revise online resources, there is no contest. It is undeniable that medical information and applications available through the internet are here to stay.
This is a big one to swallow, as many of these changes have happened already (and at a very fast rate) – but there are new opportunities for therapists as the world continues to evolve.
Let’s put this into a higher-level perspective bearing in mind there are things that cannot be fulfilled through the online world. Firstly, we acknowledge that the use of devices as an interface for human-to-human interaction adds much needed additional value to visits. Yet, finding balance in interpreting the validity of this readily available information is the challenge. Read on to find out more!
The client is narrating where and how this has started in the body, what is now out of alignment and how it should be treated – in essence, showing you your job! As you read this, be aware the same phenomena are taking place in the Western medical doctor’s office.
Vis a vis these kinds of situations, what is or will be your approach? A few possibilities follow:
- Say nothing, continue your practice as usual, whether you agree with and/or will follow your client’s suggestions, believing that your knowledge base surpasses your client’s research.
- Take a precautionary approach with your client. While being attentive to the situation, ensure your client is aware of the pros and cons to their new approach – is their research information accurate, is it appropriate to their situation, are they fixating on their research being 100% accurate? What does TRC say?
- The last option to mention is multi-fold, and deeply connected to our willingness to engage. It is inspired by a famous quote by Albert Einstein – “I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious”
- Accept the new ‘client scape’ and become curious with it, both demonstrating our knowledge, learning new approaches and deepening our level of professionalism.
- Ask where the client’s knowledge has originated, probing the origin of the resources and following up for ourselves.
- Provide our expertise in guiding the client to proceed with discernment when evaluating the options presently available.
- Think of expanding our services by providing in house resources in the way of workshops, literature or one on one consultations. This approach can encompass many subjects: those touching on methods to evaluate online resources and where to draw the line between becoming the authority and consulting a trained professional.
- With all of the above to consider, another important aspect of our evolving world is the longevity of these internet resources. Although we can predict these resources are here to stay, this is without considering the unpredictable yet increasing possibility of massive internet system ‘hijacking and hacking’; we cannot estimate the grandeur or slightness of the impact this might have on our everyday habits.
- Lastly and possibly the most important message that can be taken from these changing circumstances in our professions is the importance of human touch and interaction in the healing equation.
Human touch and the conscious intention imbued in the healer’s hands
- Human interaction and human touch, with the experienced and wise hands of the ‘healer’, remain the ‘untouchable’ part of this paradigm shift.
- Although more challenging to convey to our clients, during our interactions there is opportunity to demonstrate the impact of our intention to encourage wellness, our level of focus, and the well-honed intuition that comes with our years of service and experience.
- This message to clients can be delivered through demonstration and through the spoken word. Either way, it is very important; it may not have carried weight in the past, yet with the experience of world health restrictions under our belt, there is renewed understanding and need of the healing power of human contact.
Sharron Cosgrove, Life Counselor
A Life Cycle Celebrant and Facilitator of Change. The common thread that weaves through her work is a passion for helping folks align with the beauty of their ‘raison d’être’ on this planet Earth.
Mark B., AQTN Coordinator
Is a co-author of this article and remains optimistic about new opportunities for therapists.
