Be A Better PT

In this two-part episode, I talk with Peter Stilwell, whose work has radically expanded my understanding of pain and other deep concepts like mind-body dualism and the biopsychosocial model.

In part I, Peter and I talk pain, mind-body dualism, and enactivism, which is something that Peter has dedicated a lot of work to, especially as it relates to pain. More than these topics, Peter brings a curious, pragmatic, and humble approach to tackling these sometimes daunting concepts.

If you haven't seen The Dress Illusion, you can check it out here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_dress

You can find Peter's paper: An enactive approach to pain: beyond the biopsychosocial model, here: https://tinyurl.com/44k9zs3m

You can find Peter on Twitter @Peter_Stilwell, or learn more about him on his website, www.DrPeterStilwell.com

To join the Be A Better PT Facebook Group, visit: www.Facebook.com/groups/BetterPT

If you enjoy this episode, share the love! When you share this episode with your friends, throw me a tag so we can connect! I'm ALWAYS looking for fellow PTs to nerd out with. You can connect with me via:

My Website: www.AndrewHammondPT.com

Instagram: www.Instagram.com/AndrewHammondPT

Twitter: www.Twitter.com/AndrewHammondPT

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/AndrewHammondPT

If you're interested in bringing your practice to the level that you know it can reach, check out my Physical Therapy Mentorship program at www.AndrewHammondPT.com/PT-Mentoring

Welcome to Season 2, Episode 2 of the Be A Better PT Podcast!

My second guest, Andrew Kunin, influenced me quite a bit early in my career. Our relationship started with him as one of my residency mentors and evolved over the years as I began to take on more mentoring and teaching roles of my own in the Johns Hopkins residency program.

I knew Andrew would be a great guest because of his passion for PT and down-to-earth approach to clinical practice, and he did not disappoint.

To join the Be A Better PT Facebook Group, visit: www.Facebook.com/groups/BetterPT

To read the latest low back pain Clinical Practice Guidelines for free, visit: https://www.orthopt.org/content/practice/clinical-practice-guidelines/published-cpgs

If you enjoy this episode, share the love! When you share this episode with your friends, throw me a tag so we can connect! I'm ALWAYS looking for fellow PTs to nerd out with. You can connect with me via:

My Website: www.AndrewHammondPT.com

Instagram: www.Instagram.com/AndrewHammondPT

Twitter: www.Twitter.com/AndrewHammondPT

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/AndrewHammondPT

If you're interested in bringing your practice to the level that you know it can reach, check out my Physical Therapy Mentorship program at www.AndrewHammondPT.com/PT-Mentoring

Welcome to Season 2 of the Be A Better PT Podcast!

As you know, Season 1 was a solo exploration of my current concepts and models. Now, for Season 2, I'm bringing in those who've influenced me for some fun, explorative, and at times controversial conversations.

Join me and my first guest, Justin Ternes, as we dive into breathwork, awareness, and more.

Justin is a physical therapist, highly experienced breathwork facilitator, and men's social/emotional health group leader. Needless to say, this was a fun and inspiring conversation!

You can connect with Justin via:

His website: www.TrueSelf.Health

Instagram: www.Instagram.com/TrueSelfHealth

Twitter: www.Twitter.com/Justin_Ternes

Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/503230978

To join the Be A Better PT Facebook Group, visit: www.Facebook.com/groups/BetterPT

If you enjoy this episode, share the love! When you share this episode with your friends, throw me a tag so we can connect! I'm ALWAYS looking for fellow PTs to nerd out with. You can connect with me via:

My Website: www.AndrewHammondPT.com

Instagram: www.Instagram.com/AndrewHammondPT

Twitter: www.Twitter.com/AndrewHammondPT

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/AndrewHammondPT

If you're interested in bringing your practice to the level that you know it can reach, check out my Physical Therapy Mentorship program at www.AndrewHammondPT.com/PT-Mentoring

What is helping? What are the requirements? How can we offer help without burning out? Join me as we explore what it means to help in the 20th episode of the Be A Better PT Podcast!

You can find the episode in blog form at www.AndrewHammondPT.com/post/philosophy-helping

If you enjoy this episode, share the love! When you share this episode with your friends, throw me a tag so we can connect! I'm ALWAYS looking for fellow PTs to nerd out with. You can connect with me via:

My Website: www.AndrewHammondPT.com

Instagram: www.Instagram.com/AndrewHammondPT

Twitter: www.Twitter.com/AndrewHammondPT

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/AndrewHammondPT

If you're interested in bringing your practice to the level that you know it can reach, check out my Physical Therapy Mentorship program at www.AndrewHammondPT.com/PT-Mentoring

Is it possible that goals hinder progress? Join me as we dive into a concept that has radically shifted my practice. In this episode, we'll discuss: some problems with goals, why we tend to focus on goals so much, another way of looking at goals, and how to implement this shift in thinking into our practice and our lives.

Click the link below to download the FREE habit tracker template to help your patients (and yourself) stay focused on what really matters, the process.

You can find the episode in blog form at www.AndrewHammondPT.com/post/problem-with-goals

If you enjoy this episode, share the love! When you share this episode with your friends, throw me a tag so we can connect! I'm ALWAYS looking for fellow PTs to nerd out with. You can connect with me via:

My Website: www.AndrewHammondPT.com

Instagram: www.Instagram.com/AndrewHammondPT

Twitter: www.Twitter.com/AndrewHammondPT

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/AndrewHammondPT

If you're interested in bringing your practice to the level that you know it can reach, check out my Physical Therapy Mentorship program at www.AndrewHammondPT.com/PT-Mentoring

In Part II of this two-part episode on the powerful tool that is MI, we'll talk through the remaining 2 of the 4 core skills of MI and the 4 MI processes. As in the previous episode, I provide exercises to help you integrate and implement this information into the clinic (see below for a full list).

You can find the episode in blog form at www.AndrewHammondPT.com/post/motivational-interviewing

You can find the intention-setting infographic at www.AndrewHammondPT.com/post/clinical-reasoning

If you enjoy this episode, share the love! When you share this episode with your friends, throw me a tag so we can connect! I'm ALWAYS looking for fellow PTs to nerd out with. You can connect with me via:

My Website: www.AndrewHammondPT.com

Instagram: www.Instagram.com/AndrewHammondPT

Twitter: www.Twitter.com/AndrewHammondPT

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/AndrewHammondPT

If you're interested in learning more about my mentorship program, visit www.AndrewHammondPT.com/PT-Mentoring

EXERCISES:

Exercise 4: Reflective Listening

Use 1-2 reflective statements with each patient the next time you're in clinic.

You could reflect: the meaning of what the person said, the associated feelings, or what may be said next.

Remember, just make one guess and keep it simple.

*Notice how the person responds*

Exercise 5: Summarization

Use one summary with each patient the next time you're in clinic.

You could link past and present information, you could summarize their aggs and eases during history-taking, you could summarize salient exam findings as they accumulate, or you could summarize someone's ambivalence as it relates to a behavior they want to change.

*Notice what happens after the summary*

Exercise 6: Engaging

Think about your patients on your caseload right now.

Ask yourself, "Are there any that I need to re-engage with the next time they come in?"

Whoever comes to mind, ask yourself: "How is my rapport?" & "Do I have a clear understanding of the help that they seek?" & "Do I have a clear understanding of their hopes & expectations?"

Whichever area(s) seems deficient, spend a little extra energy on that at the next visit.

*Notice how the session goes*

Exercise 7: Focusing

Think about your patients on your caseload right now.

Ask yourself, "Are there any that I need to re-focus with the next time they come in?"

Whoever comes to mind, ask yourself: "Do we have a shared sense of direction?" & "Do we both agree on their goals?"

Whichever area(s) seems deficient, spend a little extra energy on that at the next visit.

*Notice how the session goes*

Exercise 8: Evoking

Think about someone on your caseload right now who hasn't been very committed to the process so far, despite having clear goals.

At your next visit with this person: ask for change talk, using open-ended questions; reflect change talk; affirm change talk; or summarize change talk.

*Notice what happens next*

Exercise 9: Planning

Think about someone on your caseload right now who hasn't followed through with the plan despite vocalizing commitment to the plan.

At your next visit with this person, get more specific with aspects of the change plan: time, place; where it fits into daily routines; how they will remember; dosage; and identifying (& solving) potential barriers.

*Notice what happens next visit*

During residency, I was exposed to the communication style known as Motivational Interviewing. Prior to this, I hadn't realized that there are ways of talking with people that can help them get unstuck. This was a huge realization for me.

After this course, I fully nerded-out on MI for many years and had the privilege of teaching the MI content to the residents during their didactic modules in a nice full-circle manner before I left Baltimore.

I want to share with you the gift of MI, while also helping you to avoid some of the ways that I've misunderstood, misinterpreted, and all-out fucked up when trying to implement MI in the clinic.

In this two-part episode, we'll talk through the philosophical background of motivational interviewing and behavior change, the mindset behind MI, the 4 core skills of MI, and the 4 MI processes. Along the way, I provide exercises to help you integrate and implement this information into the clinic (see below for a full list).

You can find the episode in blog form at www.AndrewHammondPT.com/post/motivational-interviewing

You can find the intention-setting infographic at www.AndrewHammondPT.com/post/clinical-reasoning

If you enjoy this episode, share the love! When you share this episode with your friends, throw me a tag so we can connect! I'm ALWAYS looking for fellow PTs to nerd out with. You can connect with me via:

My Website: www.AndrewHammondPT.com

Instagram: www.Instagram.com/AndrewHammondPT

Twitter: www.Twitter.com/AndrewHammondPT

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/AndrewHammondPT

If you're interested in bringing your practice to the level that you know it can reach, check out my Physical Therapy Mentorship program at www.AndrewHammondPT.com/PT-Mentoring

EXERCISES:

Exercise 1: The Spirit of MI

​​Think of someone right now who you find difficult to work with. Someone who you get a pit in your stomach when you see them on your schedule (we all have people like this).

Now ask yourself:

"How is my partnership with this person? Am I collaborating with this person as an equal?"

"How is my acceptance of this person? Am I honoring and respecting their freedom to make their own decisions?"

"How compassionate am I with this person? Am I giving priority to their needs during our time together?"

& finally, "Do I believe that this person has within them already what they need to succeed?"

Exercise 2: Open-Ended Questions

Start to pay attention to how many open-ended vs. closed-ended questions you ask.

Notice the difference in the other person's response when you ask an open vs. a closed-ended question.

Exercise 3: Affirmations

Give each patient you work with the next time you're in clinic one affirmation.

Make sure it's genuine and starts with "You," not "I."

Notice how the person responds.

At this point, many of us are aware of the impact of beliefs on the experience of pain, disability, and recovery. Join me as we investigate a fundamental belief. One belief that seems to be at the root of many, if not most, unhelpful beliefs that contribute to a sense of disempowerment in our patients.

​​In this episode, we'll explore why beliefs matter, some common unhelpful beliefs and what seems to be at the root of them, and ways of working with our patients to help them explore other possibilities.

You can find the episode in blog form at www.AndrewHammondPT.com/post/one-belief

If you enjoy this episode, share the love! When you share this episode with your friends, throw me a tag so we can connect! I'm ALWAYS looking for fellow PTs to nerd out with. You can connect with me via:

My Website: www.AndrewHammondPT.com

Instagram: www.Instagram.com/AndrewHammondPT

Twitter: www.Twitter.com/AndrewHammondPT

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/AndrewHammondPT

If you're interested in bringing your practice to the level that you know it can reach, check out my Physical Therapy Mentorship program at www.AndrewHammondPT.com/PT-Mentoring

Join me as we deep-dive into an essential key to success for our patients: Awareness. In this episode, we'll discuss why awareness is critical to the success of our patients, what kind of awareness is important, and how we can help our patients build awareness so that they can succeed.

Click the link below to download the FREE symptom journal template to guide your patients to expand their awareness.

You can find the episode in blog form at www.AndrewHammondPT.com/post/awareness

If you enjoy this episode, share the love! When you share this episode with your friends, throw me a tag so we can connect! I'm ALWAYS looking for fellow PTs to nerd out with. You can connect with me via:

My Website: www.AndrewHammondPT.com

Instagram: www.Instagram.com/AndrewHammondPT

Twitter: www.Twitter.com/AndrewHammondPT

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/AndrewHammondPT

If you're interested in bringing your practice to the level that you know it can reach, check out my Physical Therapy Mentorship program at www.AndrewHammondPT.com/PT-Mentoring

In this episode, we wade through the vast web of information that we find ourselves in to discuss what I call The Information Problem. The problem of information without integration.

We move from the conceptual to the practical to discuss simple ways of integrating new information into our practice by consciously expanding our conceptual models.

Click the link below to download the FREE worksheet to guide you through this important process!

You can find the episode in blog form at www.AndrewHammondPT.com/post/information-problem

If you enjoy this episode, share the love! When you share this episode with your friends, throw me a tag so we can connect! I'm ALWAYS looking for fellow PTs to nerd out with. You can connect with me via:

My Website: www.AndrewHammondPT.com

Instagram: www.Instagram.com/AndrewHammondPT

Twitter: www.Twitter.com/AndrewHammondPT

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/AndrewHammondPT

If you're interested in bringing your practice to the level that you know it can reach, check out my Physical Therapy Mentorship program at www.AndrewHammondPT.com/pt-mentorship-booking