Couldn't catch him

[Barrett Dorko]

I once worked with an OT, a man with a PhD in fact, who seemed to know enough about the job to get by, but in whom I sensed no actual knowledge of therapy. Though he occasionally spoke briefly about some obscure factoid deep within the nuts and bolts of his profession, his work with patients was mainly to joke with them and talk about things unrelated to their recovery.

He reminded me of the Frank Abagnale character in Catch Me If You Can. He looked okay and played the part well enough, but he really didn’t know how to fly a plane.

I’m probably wrong. It will turn out this guy had a license and all he billed for will be reimbursed. The parent company won’t go under – not that I actually care.

But still I wonder, and I still think of how little his patients received in the way of treatment.

[Diane]

Kind of like a well-paid baby-sitter for adults. All interactor, not much (probably no) operator.

[tonyf315]

I saw this movie but it was awhile ago...I'll have to look for it on my DVD rental hunt this weekend and refresh my memory...

[Barrett Dorko]

I think Diane's comment about "all interactor and no operator" is especially important.

Too often those who criticize the approach we promote here claim that we've "dismissed" something - biomechanics, vigorous movement, manual coercion of any sort, muscle testing for some indication of nervous flow etc. - when, in fact, we've simply placed these things where neuroscience and research has suggested they belong.

Finding a proper balance for each patient's needs is, to me, what identifies the really fine, thoughtful clinician from, say, Frank Abagnale posing as a therapist.

[byronselorme]

I thought "Catch me if you can" was an excellent movie.

I wonder if there is a point where you guys will be like Tom Hanks near the end of the movie when Leo is busy still trying to "treat" people while the authorities are outside closing in on him.

Tom sees a way to put Leo's skill to proper use instead of leaving him in a place where he will isolate himself more and more and end up hurting others?

I really like Tom's movies lately. I thought "The Terminal" was brilliant.

[BB]

More on The Terminal

[byronselorme]

Exactly Cory, it was such an well written film for Hank's part, I forgot that Zeta-Jones was in it..

That is a very interesting comment about the difference between the narrative and the story that Barrett brings up.

Interesting things pop up in some Yoga classes and most of us just bumble our way through them. For instance, I was leading a class several years ago and most of my classes have a 1 hour time frame and tend to follow a flowing sequence of some nature though not always.

About half way into the class, when everyone was moving along, I asked one particular student how she was doing and all of the sudden this long story about her history with her shoulder, how it was today, how she thought she could do this or that but not the other, where it clicked sometimes, where the pain seemed to be, what her Naturopath or Chiro had to say about it. This caused the class to come to an abrupt halt while others were waiting for the next sequence.

When this happens most times I am caught completely off guard and offer some sort of condolence. Afterwards I struggle to make some sense of what exactly happend and try to prepare a strategy for the future.

The stories do seem to have the same sort of long winded explanation that says nothing, and I find if I ever make the mistake of asking someone about their injuries that most (not all) will respond in this way.

But getting down to a narrative makes much more sense.

Thank you for the link.

[Barrett Dorko]

I'm often torn between doing what I can do to educate a patient and listening to their story. It seems my specific personality variant is good at the former and struggles with the latter.

You might say I'm the "Joe Friday" of therapy.

It's true though, people are desperate to tell their story, and they do so with very little skill or sense of self-understanding. I have little patience for that.

This being my worst attribute as a clinicain, I work to create a persona that invites something closer to a narrative than a story.

I try not to say "TMI" too often, but find it useful at times.

[byronselorme]

"TMI" ?

[Barrett Dorko]

"Too much information"

Careful Byron. You're showing your age.

I think too much is easy to get. It slows things down and adds confusion.

[Barrett Dorko]

Wouldn't you know?

This showed up on NPR today.

[byronselorme]

Originally Posted by Barrett Dorko

Careful Byrone. You're showing your age.

Hey that's my number of posts not my age

Boy if anybody needs to learn how to limit how much information they release it is me.

I am sure you must find that the greatest challenge is to give the least information that turns the light on. It is also why I keep trying to remember that art is such a valuable part of that communication.

Maybe I need to limit how much information I am trying to absorb as well?

It seems to me, and I am being a bit bold here, that many of the people on this site are almost addicted to information (I include myself in this group). More books, more articles, more tweets, more posts....videos on and on. I ask myself if there is some deep seated fear I have about not knowing enough?

An article in my local paper about information bombardment touches on this.

I think it is why I love posting on this site, just to get some feedback about where I am for bearings.

It seems I am either passively listening / watching / reading or passively talking with others just listening. Debate is sorely missing from most of my interactions.