Pre-requisites

Potential clients interested in EMDR will best experience the method when hearts and minds are open to new possibilities. If a client is resistant, the protocol may not be effective.

EMDR is a safe and effective protocol for clients carrying “small t” trauma, otherwise known as the bothersome daily grind that builds up over time if issues are left unresolved or “large t” trauma, such as PTSD or major earth-shattering life events like witnessing a death of a loved one.

These memories can replay within the mind as if the client is encountering the issue for the first time. The client’s body may experience a profound emotional impact as the loop persists with varying sensations and discomfort. The EMDR process is bilateral brain stimulation that allows the traumatic event to be processed so the client can recall the memory safely and neutrally.

The Cleveland Clinic describes the process as follows:

When you undergo EMDR, you access memories of a traumatic event in very specific ways. Combined with eye movements and guided instructions, accessing those memories helps you reprocess what you remember from the negative event. That reprocessing helps “repair” the mental injury from that memory. Remembering what happened to you will no longer feel like reliving it, and the related feelings will be much more manageable.

EMDR Preparation

Clients do not need to prepare for their first EMDR session except for an event to be processed. The therapist administrating the protocol should ensure the client can use the stop signal with the hand if the traumatic experience becomes too overwhelming.

EMDR Template

The following template outlines the activities that unfold during a typical EMDR session. The template is borrowed from the Manchester College of Coaching and Hypnotherapy and amended for the article. While the College has its specific style, there are various ways to approach the process with the same goal of neutralizing trauma.

Trauma Event To Be Processed

As we move through the EMDR template and method, a case study presenting a traumatic event demonstrates the clinical approach, allowing us to understand how the process unfolds.

EMDR Template

The initial stages of an EMDR therapy session entail information gathering between the therapist and the client. The therapist must have already built a relationship with the client rather than jumping into an EMDR session on day one. Establishing mutual trust is a powerful support to ensure the client’s safety and comfort with the protocol.

The following case study is loosely based on actual events and is protected under therapist-client confidentiality. Names are fictionalized.

1. Image

What image or symbol represents the worst aspect of the event? When you think of “X,” what comes to mind? Here, therapists may ask the client if they are looking at the traumatic event through their own eyes or observing their image from a distance — such as a person watching the world go by from the window of a train. If the scenario is the latter, moving to the ‘dissociate’ state in time can be helpful, although reducing the emotions in both states is essential.

Jamie, the client, replays the image of a recent fight with her significant other. She observes herself directly in the fight at a critical point when she feels the lowest.

2. Negative Belief

The therapist will ask the client what words are associated with the image or symbol in the ‘here and now.’ For example: “I am not safe” or “I am stupid”.

Jamie identifies her negative beliefs as:

• I am not worthy
• I am not enough
• I hold no value

3. Emotions

What emotion do you feel when you bring up that image right now? The therapist will want the client to use statements starting with “I feel…” such as “I feel wobbly” or “I feel frozen.”

Jamie responds with:

• I feel disappointed
• I feel longing
• I feel frustration

4. Positive Belief

What would you like to believe about yourself now when you think about that image? For example: “I feel safe” or “I feel empowered.”

After a brief pause, Jamie confirms her desire to feel the opposite of the negative belief statements:

• I am worth fighting for
• I am safe
• I am valuable

When asked which statement Jamie feels the most resonance, she confirms, “I am worth fighting for.”

5. Feeling Scale

Consider a scale between 1 and 10, 10 being the worst and 0 being neutral. The therapist will ask the client where, on that scale, they would describe how disturbing the event feels now.

Jamie considers the question and lands on a heightened response of 8/10, given the traumatic event that occurred the night prior and feels fresh.

6. Locating Body Sensations

As you focus on that incident, where in your body do you feel the disturbance or uncomfortable feeling? This may include size, depth/surface, color, and shape.

At the onset of the question, Jamie struggles to locate where in her body the trauma provides the greatest sensations. She is encouraged to close her eyes and perform a body scan. Jamie feels tension at the back of her neck, shoulders, and above her heart. The therapist inquires which area feels the most significant impact, and Jamie confirms her heart.

7. Testing Positive Statement

On a scale between 0 and 7, 7 being entirely true and 0 being completely false, how true do the words seem or feel when you repeat the words (positive belief), and simultaneously, are you thinking of that incident now? For example, ‘I am safe’. (This is sometimes referred to as VOC — validity of cognition)

Jamie confirms her positive statements, mainly “I am worth fighting for,” is a 3/7. While she wants to believe the positive statement from an intellectual perspective, her body has not yet caught up to the new belief system.

8. Encourage Breath

Therapists should remind their clients to breathe during the protocol. Some people may hold their breath due to extreme focus on the task, and promoting relaxation is vital to a successful outcome.

EMDR Method

With the information-gathering portion complete, the method or practice of EMDR comes into play. The technique entails processing the negative and positive emotions to decrease or desensitize the trauma, thus reducing the heightened emotional response.

1. Process Image and use the Emotion Scale

Bring up the image/symbol and negative words/beliefs. Next, the therapist will ask the client to notice where the sensation is felt in the body. The client will follow the therapist’s fingers with their eyes, keeping their head still. Again, remind the client to breathe. Continue for about 20–25 sweeps of the hand. The therapist completes the sweeps and exhales loudly as their hand comes down.

Note — there are a few aids a therapist can utilize to help a client process the negative emotions. All methods stimulate the left and right sides of the brain.

1. Electronic Paddles — vibrating hand-held paddles that pulse from left to right. Paddles are used in person.
2. Hand Sweeps — hand sweeps in a figure-eight motion across a computer screen or in person.
3. YouTube Video Dot Movement — a video with a dot traversing from left to right at a controlled pace. It is best used with video calls.

When a therapist assists a client in processing negative emotions, the swiping, pulsing, or dot movement is set at a more rapid pace. For example, the YouTube video playback speed is best placed at 1.75.

Let’s return to Jamie. She experiences three sets of 30-second video clips using the YouTube Dot Movement technique. With each interval, the negative image of the fight with her significant other shifts, and the original image gradually diminishes.

Example: YouTube Dot Movement:

2. Gearing: Helping the Client To Reach a Positive Status

Next, the therapist requests the client to recall the original traumatic image and repeat the positive statement. Encourage the client to gently tap or smooth the affected area in the body and continue to do so during the bilateral brain stimulation of the pulsing paddle, hand swipe, or YouTube video. For video use, ensure the setting slows the playback speed to .75.

With each 30-second interval (or however long), the therapist pauses and checks in with the client to confirm their emotional response in the present moment. Has the original emotional response stayed the same, increased, or decreased? The goal is the latter: to reduce the emotional sensations.

There are a couple of ways to perform the positive emotional response technique. A client can recall the original image and keep the positive belief system in their mind, or the therapist can verbally say different variations of the positive statements aloud in a soothing voice so that the client can focus on the bilateral stimulation. I have found the second situation more effective.

Continue the technique until the client feels they have reduced the anxiety sufficiently. Ideally, they will have moved down to a 1 or 2. Next, a therapist will check the client’s belief system or VOC once the ideal positive statement is achieved.

Returning to Jamie, the therapist speaks variations of the positive belief statements in a slow, soothing voice as the client watches the YouTube video with the cascading dot. The therapist gently instructs Jamie to place her hands crisscrossed across the top of her heart and tap as the client soaks up the positive words.

• I am worth fighting for (more attention is paid to this statement)
• I am safe
• I am valuable

3. Process Body Sensation

The therapist asks the client to close their eyes and think about the original memory and the positive belief. The client will be asked to scan their body for uncomfortable physical sensations. Continue to circulate or swipe fingers until suitably reduced. Combine with positive statements.

Please note: it is not necessary to eliminate all negativity as the brain will continue to process the positive emotions after the session. More than one session may be required for the same traumatic image or variations of it, depending on the emotional intensity.

Jamie feels the pain in her heart reduced; however, she continues to feel dull sadness. She continues one more set of the EMDR positive process until the emotional response subsides to a 2/10.

4. Close Session

While there are many different ways to conclude an EMDR session, depending on the therapist’s style and training, one effective way may be to end with the therapist providing a meditation or positive words of affirmation. An example of a relaxation script will be provided in a later post.

Jamie feels satisfied with the reduced emotional response and appears calm and relaxed. The client’s stability reassures the therapist their session is complete.

In Conclusion

The article provides a simple step-by-step overview of the EMDR process from a clinical perspective integrated with a case study of how the client, Jamie, experiences the protocol. By understanding how EMDR works, the general public will become better acquainted with EMDR and the benefits of reducing traumatic events, such as enabling greater personal freedom.

If you live in Ontario, Canada, and wish to try EMDR, please get in touch with me through my website, lisabradburn.com, or message me here on Medium to set up a free introductory call.

The post What Steps Are Used In The EMDR Method? appeared first on Medika Life.

Personal Interest

Recently, my doctor recommended adding red light therapy to stimulate cellular energy production and grow new stem cells injected into my lower spine. Since I have documented the spinal stem cell procedure in a previous story, this article aims to educate readers on the benefits of red light therapy for various health and wellness purposes. I will also share the results of my journey with red light therapy related to the stem cell procedure.

First, what is inflammation? Let’s examine the types, causes, symptoms, and treatments. We will also review how red light therapy promotes balance, optimizes cellular function, and supports your body’s response to inflammation and pain.

What is Inflammation?

Inflammation may come into your field of awareness if your body becomes red, hot, swollen, or painful in response to an injury or an infection. Inflammation isn’t just a symptom; it’s a complex process in every living thing. Think of inflammation as your body’s programmed response to danger. It’s one of your immune system’s first actions against germs, irritation, and cell damage. However, according to Harvard Health Publishing,

if inflammation becomes a chronic problem, it can also be a route to disease and wider dysfunction in the body. [1]

What Causes inflammation?

Inflammation can be caused by almost anything that puts the body under stress. There are clear physical causes of inflammation like injuries & wounds, bruises, burns, splinters — and even stem cell procedures. Harvard Health Publishing states:

Inflammation also occurs due to biological factors like infection from germs and stress. Chemical irritants, toxins, and alcohol can also trigger inflammation. [1]

Furthermore, Medical News Today reports:

Our bodies can become inflamed in response to environmental stressors — like inadequate sleep, poor nutrition, dehydration, and exposure to toxins. [2]

Over time, these environmental factors can play a role in developing chronic inflammation with more serious long-term health implications.

Signs and Symptoms of Inflammation

There are five classic signs of inflammation:

• heat
• redness
• swelling
• pain
• loss of function

Chemicals like bradykinin, a peptide that promotes inflammation and histamine, cause pain that your body releases to stimulate your nerve endings as a warning of danger, according to the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care. [3]

An abundance of clinical evidence, such as findings reported in the BMC Medical Journal, shows how:

Inflammation can cause depression, and vice-versa; depression can cause inflammation. [4].

This is big news for mental health practitioners, who should consider the whole client — mind, body, and spirit- instead of the narrow view of brain function.

Acute or Chronic Inflammation?

We know not all inflammation is harmful to your health. Acute inflammation can help our body recover from a specific problem. In a normal response to stress or injury, inflammation sets in within a few hours and works to clear the damaged tissue and start the repair process. Once again, Harvard Health Publishing tells us:

Once the injury or strain is healed, the inflammation fades away. [1]

However, the same report states chronic inflammation is often caused by:

frequent acute inflammation, as well as viral infections, autoimmune reactions, recurrent tissue damage, and foreign bodies that aren’t removed. [1]

The Evolution of Inflammatory Diseases suggests chronic inflammation can be quite painful and lead to other conditions like:

Arthritis, lackluster skin, poor gut health, and even increased risk for some cancers. [5]

We know chronic inflammation is common in Western society and may be the underlying cause of other diseases, such as:

• stroke
• heart disorders
• diabetes
• cancers

In the medical paper Chronic Inflammation, I was surprised to learn how over half of all human deaths are attributed to inflammation. [6]

Current Inflammation Treatments, Risks, & Side Effects

Inflammation is often treated with NSAIDs or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. These include supposed lower-risk, over-the-counter varieties like aspirin and ibuprofen that can treat symptoms of acute pain.

When serious chronic inflammation arises, patients often take prescription NSAIDs. However, according to several publications on the topic, these medications have shown numerous risks for people over age 60 and kidney risks for the general population. [7,8,9]

In general, established inflammation treatments only address the symptoms of inflammation, like pain and swelling, not the root causes, like cellular function, tissue repair, and biological imbalance.

Given the limitations of existing treatments, it’s of no surprise people look beyond NSAIDs and pharmaceuticals for solutions to chronic inflammation and pain. Lifestyle factors (diet, exercise, sleep quality) play a significant role in keeping the body balanced so acute inflammation doesn’t become chronic.

There is a reason humans are encouraged to soak up the morning sun. Healthy light exposure is also essential for cells to repair, regenerate, and make energy efficient. Next, let’s examine how light, specifically red light therapy treatments, helps to support the cellular response to inflammation and pain.

Red Light Therapy For Pain Relief and Inflammation Management

Red light therapy treatments are a perfect way to support a healthy lifestyle by enhancing cellular function. Like exercise, nutritious eating, restful sleep, and beneficial light exposure, it helps manage inflammation and pain.

What is Red Light Therapy?

The manufacturer of the red light panels, JOOVV, describes red light therapy, also known as photobiomodulation (PBM) or low-level laser therapy (LLLT), as:

A simple, non-invasive treatment that delivers wavelengths of red and near-infrared (NIR) light to the skin and cells. The term “red light therapy” refers to treatments from light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that deliver specific wavelengths of red and NIR light to the skin and cells.

Red Light Therapy and Inflammation

According to the medical paper, Low-level Laser (Light) Therapy Increases Mitochondrial Membrane Potential:

light therapy treatments help supply the mitochondria in your cells with the light needed to make the ATP energy that powers your body. [10]

Red light therapy allows a person to supplement the sunlight they get from their environment with concentrated wavelengths of red and NIR light.

What Science Says

Dr. Hamblin from the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, is one of the world’s leading photomedicine researchers and believes light therapy produces an “overall reduction in inflammation.” [11]

Check out this paper by Dr. Michael Hamblin of Harvard Medical School

To summarize the paper, Dr. Hamblin shares how:

red and near-infrared light acts as a mild form of stress that activates protective mechanisms in cells. When red light hits the skin and penetrates into cells, mitochondria are nudged to make energy more efficient. This boosts the production of healing anti-inflammatories and antioxidants that speed up healing. [11]

How Does Red Light Therapy Work?

Several medical journals report how red and NIR light helps balance the body’s inflammatory effects by boosting cellular energy and reducing oxidative stress. Wavelengths of red and NIR light have been shown to stimulate the mitochondria, the cell’s powerhouse. They can optimize the cellular respiration process that makes ATP (adenosine triphosphate) energy, which increases function, speeds healing, and can reduce inflammation & discomfort, as demonstrated in numerous peer-reviewed studies. [12,13,14,15,16]

The research paper Individual Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs and Risk of Acute Kidney Injury speaks to how:

Red light therapy also supports arthritis and joint pain relief by improving blood flow to damaged tissues. [8]

To conclude, when cells receive the healthy light they need, the whole body has the potential to work more efficiently, with improved circulation and reduced inflammation.

My Experience With Red Light Therapy

When I stand between two warm red lite panels, I’m intrigued by what activity must occur at the cellular level, particularly the possibility of stem cells adhering to and regrowing the bottom three vertebrae of my spine.

Given the intensity of the wavelengths of red and NIR light, I cannot stand between the panels for more than 10 minutes; otherwise, my body limits how much light can be absorbed through the skin. Exceeding ten minutes is a waste of time, and I appreciate the quick in-and-out experience of the protocol.

As I’m standing in between the panels, I have observed the following:

• Parts of my skin appear translucent; I can see the veins in my legs
• I feel the tiny hairs on my body “stand up” and tingle
• My body feels warm and good, nurtured
• I experience calm and, later, a gentle fatigue

Within an hour of experiencing red light therapy, my lower back feels low-level discomfort; however, according to the stem cell doctor, this is a normal part of the process.

Now, as I move into the second month of recovery from the stem cell procedure, it is too early to tell if the stem cells are maturing until I receive an MRI in March 2024 to see physical developmental changes. Red light therapy is a critical success factor in ensuring a positive outcome from the stem cell procedure.

Thank you to Vortex Wellness Studio in Collingwood, Ontario, for supporting me with your wonderful red light therapy circuit during my stem cell recovery process.

The post Fight Inflammation With Red Light Therapy appeared first on Medika Life.

The year prior, our family grieved the loss of a best friend, Dee, who suffered a decade of various forms of cancer. Dee was a force to be reckoned with in the Ontario Cannabis Community. She was an OG hippie who never entirely left the sixties and was a maternal voice to those who required medical marijuana before cannabis was legal in Ontario. When Dee’s liver suffered its final fate, my Mom provided her with ultra-concentrated THC resin, notoriously known as “Rick Simpson Oil,” comparable to and a healthier option than addictive opioids, to ease her friend’s suffering. Also, as part of Dee’s protocol, she consumed large quantities of potent THC chocolate from morning to night. TCH or “tetrahydrocannabinol” is defined by dictionary.com as:

the primary psychoactive component in marijuana, hashish, and other preparations derived from cannabis plants, especially Cannabis sativa, or produced synthetically.

After Dee’s passing in August 2022, our family inherited a plethora of cannabis products from her family, some of which were stored in our refrigerator, such as unidentified half-eaten bars of chocolate.

My stepdad, Floyd, and I are not consumers of marijuana products, except specific strains of oils to induce sleep. However, Floyd does exhibit behaviors similar to a seagull; he can be seen descending upon the refrigerator at 8 PM each night, his flight path well known in inner circles.

On Christmas Eve, seagull Floyd embarked upon his usual journey through the various levels of the refrigerator. He had a sweet, insatiable desire and spied the unidentified chocolate sitting amongst other fully recognizable bars. Floyd ingested large quantities of the chocolate, tucking away multiple pieces of the brown goodness until he felt satisfied with his exploits. He returned to the sofa and became engrossed in watching people play pool on YouTube, a pastime I scratch my head at. A half-hour later, bed was calling. Floyd stood abruptly and realized all was not well; the world was spinning. He felt tremors deep within his stomach and began to emit a low growling noise that pilfered throughout the home.

From my loft, I heard what sounded like a cat dying. Was Santa in our living room? As I tip-toed downstairs and peered into the darkness, I listened to the animated howl from the kitchen. There, slumped over the table, was Floyd, trying to remove excess air trapped deep in his stomach.

“Are you OK? What’s THAT noise?” I gently placed my hand on Floyd’s back in concern.

“I don’t know…can’t seem to get rid of this gas,” he choked back.

I immediately went and retrieved my mother, who was also in bed, and asked her to come out and tend to Floyd. Mom jerked herself from under the covers, turned the kitchen light on, and checked Floyd’s vitals. His face was ashen grey; the man barely had the energy to lift his face off the wooden table. We were all afraid he may be experiencing a heart attack. My Mom dialed 911 and provided the known details, announcing the ambulance was soon en route.

While the three of us waited for the first responders to arrive, an opportunity arose to ask more questions. After gentle probing, my Mom and I discovered the culprit — Floyd ingested copious amounts of Dee’s marijuana-infused chocolate with high TCH content. When the ambulance arrived, and two male paramedics descended into our living room, my Mom and I were giggling like banshees — much to their bewilderment. Once the medics understood what they were dealing with, they, too, found amusement and relief in the situation.

Floyd ended up praying to the porcelain God in several violent incidents over the next two hours until nothing remained in his system.

Through Floyd’s escapades, our family learned valuable Christmas Eve lessons:

1. One will not die consuming THC; the nightmare will pass.
2. If in doubt, vomit as if your life depends upon it.
3. Eat a full breakfast the next day. Pancakes are a must.
4. Clearly label the contents of unidentified homemade treats.
5. Re-evaluate seagull behavior. There must be a therapist for that.

While it is easy to make light of the situation, in truth, a far worse situation could have unfolded if a food-related allergy or a young child had been involved. On Christmas Day, Floyd was back to his usual self, tucked into his brunch like there was no tomorrow; the seagull resurrected.

Have you or a loved one ever eaten something you shouldn’t have? If so, what transpired, and were there any health repercussions?

The post Caution! When Cannabis And Christmas Collide In Unexpected Ways appeared first on Medika Life.

From a client’s perspective, I felt put off by the rigidity of the situation. From a therapist’s perspective, I was left considering what kind of practitioner I want to be for the people I serve.

Therapist Point of View

Let’s consider why some therapists impose calendar restrictions on their clients.

First, building the therapist-client relationship is the most valuable part of establishing mutual trust. Trust is built over time. If time is limited, the process and therapeutic benefit will take longer to co-create. While I agree with the initial regularity of creating the space to get to know clients for the first few sessions, there should be room to make adjustments once enough ground is established.

The main reason is financial. If mental health practitioners with private practice base their sole income on client work, they risk the impacts of market fluctuations, especially new therapists starting in the field who may not have a full client roster. In times of economic prosperity, people have additional income to spend on therapy, and the opposite is true when the winds of uncertainty arrive.

Client Point of View

Building on the last point, in a struggling economy, clients (in particular those who do not have health coverage) will most likely spend their hard-earned money on life’s essentials — food, shelter, and other primary necessities and forgo therapy as a ‘nice to have.’ Would you rather eat a chicken dinner or work on your anxiety? When money is tight, the chicken wins.

My Opinion

Therapists benefit from creating multiple income streams to help brace for tough financial times. For example, from day one of starting the five-year Gestalt Institute of Toronto, I knew I would not abandon my corporate career given the uncertainty of finding and maintaining therapy clients. Writing, ski coaching, and course content creation are other ways I can quickly funnel new revenue streams. These decisions allow me to give clients personal freedom to see me when they want to and have space when my services are not required. Everyone wins.

Your Opinion Matters

In the comment section, let me know your beliefs regarding whether therapists should enforce a regular schedule on clients. What is your experience to date? Am I missing any unearthed points of view?

The post To Meet Regularly Or Not? That Is The Question appeared first on Medika Life.

Have you ever thought you were physically more robust, flexible, and agile than in reality? I had convinced myself of this falsehood in 2020. During the height of the pandemic, on a cold winter night, out of boredom, I decided to showcase and brag about my dazzling gymnastic abilities to my parents in the form of a bridge pose that rocked back and forth. The result? Over the next 24 hours, I was unable to walk and hunched over in severe pain.

Fast forward a year; I neglected to shovel snow properly and, again, doubled over in agony, unable to stand straight. In both of these instances, I seemingly recovered after a few weeks. Finally, in January 2023, when lifting my dog into the car, I heard a crunch in my lower back, which culminated in an inability to walk for a couple of weeks and experienced piercing pain with most movements. This time, recovery wasn’t in the cards. Coupled with a lower back issue, I began to feel a strong electric current coursing down my right leg, a constant source of aggravation and sleep loss. Despite all this, I still finished the downhill ski season, not wanting to suffer from FOMO. Talk about obsessive-compulsive!

Over the spring and summer of 2023, the sciatic nerve pain escalated; I was constantly sleep-deprived and felt agitated at the most minor things in life, never mentally operating at total capacity. In August 2023, at the urge of family and friends, tired of hearing me complain, I booked an MRI to discover the root cause of the issue.

The Diagnosis

The MRI results were immediate; I was diagnosed with degenerative disk disease, a deterioration of the lower three rungs of my spine. The issue was most likely caused by a curvature of the spine pre-existing from birth, along with the above-mentioned physical activities, which exacerbated the condition.

Proposed Solutions

Armed with a diagnosis, for the first time in my life, I decided to embark upon a short-term leave of absence from my corporate career and take care of my mental and physical health.

In consulting with medical practitioners at Medcan, a Canadian privatized healthcare provider, I was provided with two options:

1. Cortisone shots in the lower spine.
   Pro — potential immediate relief?
   Con — A band-aid solution that will not fix the root cause or extract positive benefits after some time.
2. Titanium plates can be inserted into the lower spine via an operation.
   Pro — not aware of any.
   Con — 50% chance of success with high risk of issues later in life.

Neither of these options intrigued me, and I felt annoyed at the limitations of modern Western medicine. Have we yet to evolve beyond archaic practices?

I used my frustration as motivation to research other potential procedures to cure the issue, and after a mad Google search, I discovered stem cell therapy. But wait, aren’t stem cells made up of baby placentas and ethically questionable? No. Quite the contrary. We’ll return to the process in a moment.

Next, I contacted and met with Dr. Shammaa from the Canadian Centres for Regenerative Therapy in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, for a clinical assessment to determine if I am an ideal candidate for a stem cell procedure.

Dr. Shammaa reviewed the MRI and affirmed the Medcan diagnosis:

Multilevel degenerative disc disease, most pronounced at L4-L5 with the central disc protrusion impinging upon thetraversing L5 nerve roots.

Given my age and active lifestyle, he confirmed I made an ideal candidate for the procedure, a spine issue he treats roughly once a month for other patients suffering the same circumstance. The most prevalent challenge is stem cell injections in the knee as a replacement for knee replacement surgery. The doctor also confirmed my suspicion that the sciatic nerve was pinched by one of the degraded rungs of the spine and would have to be decoupled during the procedure.

After giving Dr. Shammaa’s details more thought, I decided to embark upon the process, and we agreed upon Wednesday, November 8, 2023, for the date of the procedure. Since stem cell therapy is considered ‘experimental’ and not covered by the Canadian health care system, I incurred an out-of-pocket cost of 18K. Ouch.

What Is Stem Cell Therapy?

According to the Canadian Center for Regenerative Therapy, stem cells are a part of a field of research called Regenerative Therapy:

Regenerative Therapy is a branch of translational research in tissue engineering and molecular biology that deals with the “process of replacing, engineering or regenerating human cells, tissues or organs to restore or establish normal function

The Mayo Clinic describes stem cells as:

Stem cells are the body’s raw materials — cells from which all other cells with specialized functions are generated. Under the right conditions in the body or a laboratory, stem cells divide to form more cells called daughter cells.

In my example, I was an excellent candidate for stem cell replacement therapy, as the Mayo Clinic continues to articulate:

Stem cells can be guided into becoming specific cells that can be used in people to regenerate and repair tissues that have been damaged or affected by disease

The Stem Cell Procedure

On November 8, 2023, the stem cell operation proceeded as planned at the Toronto clinic. Initial blood work was drawn to ensure vitals were functioning as expected, as you can see by my “joyous” expression in the picture below.

The next step included inserting approximately 25+ needles from my lower hips to the top of my back to freeze the entire area to ensure I remained awake for the procedure. While the process was agonizing, my body started to reject the needles halfway through and ejected some from piercing through the skin.

Once my back and thigh area were frozen, the doctor took a larger needled and extracted bone marrow from my right hipbone, which would be used to remove fresh stem cells.

Next, six strategically placed larger needles were injected into the lower three rungs of my spine, three on each side. Here, the new stem cells were injected into the six needles. I was able to feel fluid and movement in my lower back as the injections occurred, an odd and unpleasant sensation.

The grand finale saved the worst experience for last. I was required to stay awake for the process to verbally verify whether the sciatic nerve decoupled from being caught in the lower spine. Dr. Shammaa forewarned me of the pain to follow and provided a stress ball to hold onto. While he microscopically moved the sciatic nerve, I experienced highly sharp jolts of pain coursing through my lower back and right leg. SweatHot and cold sweat poured out of my body, and I screamed in agony, yelling obscenities that would make a nun’s face turn yellow. I felt like I was holding onto a high-powered electric fence, the source coursing through my body.

Overall, the process took approximately 3 hours, with a hopeful outcome. Not long after, I drank a glass of water, slowly sat up, and, with assistance, was placed into a wheelchair, hauled out, and moved into my car for a long journey home in rush hour traffic and pouring rain.

Aftercare & Recovery

As of writing the blog post, I’ve been in recovery for one month. Some days are better than others, and more recently, I have begun to feel more significant discomfort in my lower back, which may be a positive indication of an active healing response. Unfortunately, the healing process takes eight months to a year for stem cells to grow fully. I will know if the procedure works once I conduct a second MRI in late winter 2024 to visualize growth progress.

My body is currently experiencing extreme fatigue, which is normal, given the additional stress on the system. I have frequent brain fog and sometimes forget words, an often frustrating dilemma when speaking with friends and loved ones. Another annoyance is my inability to accomplish as many tasks as I used to due to exhaustion; I’m currently learning to go easy on myself with the knowledge this, too, shall pass.

A few weeks ago, I felt intense anger rising from within and became curious about where the emotion came from. After consulting my naturopathic doctor, she confirmed how, in Chinese medicine, there is a belief humans hold their frustration and fury within the lower back area (along with the liver). And given the invasive nature of the poking and prodding from the needles, there is little wonder I am expressing anger.

While in recovery, my sole objective is to create and maintain an anti-inflammatory environment within the body to ensure maximum success toward stem cell growth. The current protocol includes:

• Follow an anti-inflammatory diet
• Consume specific vitamins and minerals
• Cupping the back and the stomach
• Acupuncture
• Physiotherapy
• Red light therapy
• Oxygenate cells in a hyperbaric chamber for 1–3 hours a day

In a future post, I will discuss the benefits of hyperbaric chambers in stem cell development, a fascinating topic.

My goal is to inform the public of the miracle of stem cell technological advancement; there are promising medical options beyond what traditional medical practitioners offer. I’m happy to answer any questions you have and will inform readers of progress once more information is known.

The post My Life-Changing Journey With Stem Cell Therapy appeared first on Medika Life.

Doug is a self-professed drug addict (his words, not mine). And his poison of choice is crack cocaine. Several years ago, he owned and operated a tooling company and befriended someone who gave him the rock to sample. In a rapid turn of events, his life spiraled downward fast.

My biological dad and I met for the first time when I turned 40 after I requested a search through a Private Investigator. He, and my biological mom, placed me up for adoption as a newborn baby. Fast forward to today, I count my blessings that I didn’t endure the hardship and uncertainty of what it must have been like to grow up under Doug’s influence.

Despite the addiction, I find Doug utterly fascinating; how he continues to live is beyond me. Physically, he looks like he’s been warped through a blender; the man has one leg, a dangling colostomy bag, and one eye. Yet he manages to wobble around on a cane and remain mobile — with a cheeky smile!

Although we don’t get a chance to talk often, given his penchant for dialing relatives at 3 or 4 AM, I see glimpses into his true self and where some of my unique personality traits originate. Doug is a visionary, a big-picture thinker. When he dreams, he shoots for the stars, the moon, and beyond. Although my bio-dad (as I affectionately call him) is a storyteller on auto-repeat, he shares his desire to create the “Billy Fund,” a billion-dollar charity designed to eradicate poverty and pay for educational expenses for Canadian children. A noble aspiration. Doug wants to accomplish his goal by walking across Canada, following in the footsteps of Terry Fox. Whenever dad shares his heart with me, I feel the realness of his intention, despite Doug’s reality being a fantasy.

Doug is a man of the people, and they like him too. He learned the art of the street hustle, evident in the amount of loot the man brings home. Christmas is an especially lucrative time for filling the coffers with coins, bills, and snacks. The real draw is his infectious sense of humor; he’s hilarious and loving while existing on an entirely different planet. What I love about Doug is his unwavering faith in other humans, his family, his adoration of animals, and his belief in God almighty.

No amount of rehab will bring Doug back to his original form. I believe he has suffered too much damage to return to normalcy. And this is why on the stifling hot Saturday, I arrived at the shelter, and Doug was nowhere to be found — despite my brother Chris informing him I was going to visit. Doug didn’t pick up his phone when I called twice, nor did the shelter staff know where he was.

In the heat of the moment, I felt a flush of anger arise from the depths of my stomach. Didn’t he know Saturday is my only day off? That I drove two hours just to see him? Why can’t he be where I need him? Of course, Doug can’t; he exists on an entirely different plane of consciousness.

On the drive home, I had time to process my emotions and come to terms with our loss of missing each other:

• In my first wave of emotion, I was overcome by selfishness, focusing on “I” rather than “We.” For some time, I allowed my feelings to be, observing the ebb and flow within my body. Over time, I asked myself — what did I expect would happen? That Doug would be standing at the entrance of the homeless shelter with flowers in hand?
• Doug is a creature of habit, on a mission to panhandle, source funds, and procure his next fix. Deviating from the normal routine is not in Doug’s repertoire; his addiction will always trump familial relationships. And knowing Doug is consumed by his own needs, my rage melted into compassion towards his restless soul.
• Through the newfound sense of empathy regarding Doug’s absence, I was able to switch my mindset and consider all the magnificent qualities I see in my dad; the beautiful shards of his soul shining through the darkness.

My story resembles the multi-millions of others affected by long-term heavy substance abuse. All we can do is try. I showed up to be with my dad, even if he couldn’t.

And here lies a choice as to how we respond when people don’t appear how we want them to. Either we allow anger, resentment, and abandonment to construct a permanent hornet’s nest in our hearts, or we can choose to “see” and “accept” people for who they are moment to moment, with all their glorious blemishes, flaws, and impurities. I choose love. What about you?

The post How To Respond To A Family Member Steeped In Addiction appeared first on Medika Life.

People often think we have to suffer from childhood abuse or the war to have trauma. However, this is not true.

Trauma is caused by being overwhelmed and feeling powerless. While the concept is relatively subjective, some good examples are that when we’re young and vulnerable, many things, such as removing love or harsh criticism, can seem existentially threatening.

The truth is none of us get through life without these types of experiences, and we all have “trauma” to some degree.

Let’s review a simplified version of the trauma scale using a personal example, how you can create your trauma timeline through journaling, and some general trauma misconceptions and symptoms to watch out for.

The Trauma Scale

Speaking from personal experience, in 2019, I had the pleasure of working with an Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Practitioner with the core objective of processing trauma-related events throughout my life.

In our first two sessions, we created a trauma timeline from prenatal to 2019. Within the timeline, we assessed and prioritized the most significant trauma impact upon my life to the smallest and used the timeline to direct us on where to begin the work. We jumped around the timeline and moved back and forth until I could manage and accept my trauma without becoming overwhelmed or painfully relive the circumstance each time I thought about it.

While I have written extensively about EMDR and have included reference links at the bottom of the story, the purpose of today is to review the timeline process and dig deeper into the trauma concept.

To provide you with a visual, here is a condensed version of my trauma scale, beginning with prenatal to 39 years old.

While working alongside the EMDR practitioner, for each traumatic memory, I assessed the intensity of the painful situation from 1–10. I recognize the process is purely subjective, and in my experience, the death of my cat Virgil, while a hurtful memory, feels less so when compared to the death of a relative at age 37. My experience is unique to me, including the pain threshold.

All this to say, the trauma timeline is revealing not only for the EMDR practitioner but also for the client to understand better where to focus immediate attention and how the accumulation of trauma affects who we are today.

Create Your Trauma Timeline

While there are many different types of trauma scales depending on the clinical modality used between a therapist and client, the above-simplified version can be replicated through personal journaling.

If you are interested in evaluating your life and exposing trauma, consider writing your timeline. You do not need to start from day one of your life; allow the memories to appear in your mind and plot along a timeline. As each memory moves to the surface of your mind, gauge the level of pain you re-experience and indicate between one to ten. One being the lowest and ten the highest. Make note.

I am the first person to tell you; the timeline experience is not a fun activity — it’s painful to relive hurt over and over again. While creating a timeline is helpful to know where to draw your attention to first, the next step in the journey is to find the right professional help to let go of the trauma.

Since trauma embeds itself within our bodies, seeking assistance with a trained trauma professional will do worlds of wonder in the healing process, far beyond what we can accomplish if we try and attempt the steps on our own.

Trauma Misconceptions And Symptoms

People think trauma shows up like flashbacks and nightmares, or even severe behaviors like not leaving the house. Still, more often, it manifests as boundary and control issues, unhealthy coping mechanisms, a less than helpful style of relating, how we eat, how we handle money — you get the idea.

Almost everything we do in life can become a way to try and re-find safety.

A trauma “symptom” is any once useful response to a past threat, which shows up in the present where there is no threat so that it will be no longer helpful.

The beauty of trauma symptoms is often their caution. They can OVER-protect us from what happened in the past happening again.

Their horror is that these over-reactions to inappropriate stimuli (only vaguely related to what hurt us) can ruin our present and future.

Even with this, however, we must be grateful for our systems’ attempt to care for us. This is paradoxically the start of any change effort.

“If hate worked, I would teach you that”

– Buddha.

This very much applies to healing your trauma symptoms. Most people mistake their “low level” trauma for a part of their personality and are understandably attached to it. If you were in no way traumatized, you would respond all the time appropriately.

And you don’t, let’s be honest.

For example, I am an over-achiever to prove my value. My behavior stems from the prenatal experience of being given up for adoption. All of the behavior I exhibit today is to overcompensate for the loss of love experienced before birth! All of my BS is residual trauma.

Even when our “weirdness becomes wonderful” (post-traumatic growth), there’s still care to be taken in old patterns. I recognize that my trauma will be a work in progress for the rest of my life and may show up in unexpected ways if I am not consciously aware of what is happening within myself.

Remember, everyone on the planet has lived through traumatic experiences, and the pain you feel toward an event may be of a different intensity than another. Do you feel the time is right for you to assess the traumatic circumstances in your life? Does the thought of opening the door frighten or excite you? If you are at the start of your journey toward recovery, consider what it will be like to take the first step before leaping.

The post Explore A Simple Trauma Timeline To Prioritize The Healing Process appeared first on Medika Life.

Topdog vs. Underdog is a phrase coined by Fritz Perls, the father of Gestalt therapy, to describe a self-torture game that people play with themselves in order to avoid the anxiety that they encounter in their environment.

Topdog versus Underdog is a game we play with ourselves, one we cannot win. In this article, we discover the definition of Topdog and Underdog, how humans use the defeatist self-manipulation technique, and ways to shift mindsets into a positive way of being. 

The Theory Behind Topdog Versus Underdog

To avoid or reduce anxiety, humans often develop complex manipulative behavior to satisfying personal needs, but in reality, it heightens their dependent behavior and separates them from healthy self-support. If a person is unaware of an effective way to reduce their anxiety dominating their experience, any actions that seem to alleviate stress, even temporarily, are adopted. Individuals may manipulate themselves as well as their environments. They may pay attention to certain aspects of their own experience and ignore or avoid others. Or individuals might over-identify with specific characteristics and create rigid, uncompromising, prejudicial attitudes toward the self.

What’s A Topdog? 

Here, the Topdog describes the part of an individual that demands the idea that the person should adhere to certain societal norms and standards. The Topdog aspect of the personality is the demander-of-perfection, the manifestation of a set of introjected “shoulds” and “shouldn’t’s.”

Topdog Examples

• I should work harder, smarter, faster to be recognized.
• No, I shouldn’t eat that bowl of ice cream; there is too much sugar in it.
• I should read more books rather than staring at my computer screen.
• Do I need this? I shouldn’t order more stuff on Amazon. 
• I should meditate more often and spend more time on gratitude. 
• Stop it! I shouldn’t talk to myself as much as I do. 

What’s An Underdog? 

Opposed to the Topdog is the Underdog, the manifestation of resistance to external demands. The Gestalt Center of Gainsville describes the process as:

The underdog agrees that the Topdog’s demands are appropriate; however, internal sabotage assures that the demands will never be met.

It is often the case that these internal needs twist to become self-sabotaging behaviors. 

Underdog Examples

• I’ll never be able to accomplish as much as I want in my lifetime. 
• I can never stop at just one spoon of ice cream and am gaining weight. 
• I can’t stop watching YouTube videos and will never be able to read again!
• Ordering ‘stuff’ gives me a hit of dopamine; I can’t break the habit of online shopping!
• I can’t find the time to meditate because I’m on my laptop all day.
• There’s no way I can stop talking to myself. I live in the country; who else am I going to talk to?

While there is no clear winner in the self-defeating game of Topdog/Underdog, however, in the encounter, the underdog takes a dominant position triggering developing depression or anxiety. 

Shift Mindset Into Positive Way Of Being

Gestalt therapists often guide their patients through an exercise where they assume both the Topdog/Underdog roles. With the therapist’s guidance, the patients can come to gain insight about themselves which can help them have a healthier relationship with their environment. 

However, if you don’t have access to a therapist to enact the role-playing game, here are three ways to shift your mindset into a positive way of being.

1. Today, be aware of the thoughts that cycle in your mind
2. Become attuned to the language you use when speaking with yourself. Do you use any auxiliary verbs such as “would, should, could”? 
3. When you use “would, should, could’s,” in internal dialog, what sentence generally follows? How are you holding yourself back?
4. Self-awareness is the ultimate key to sourcing the areas in your life where introjects are present. When you sit and self-observe your internal dialog, where do you carry the conversation in your body? 
5. Write down your self-defeating dialog and switch the words to become positive affirmations. If need be, place the new statements somewhere in your environment where you can remind yourself of the change. For example, I taped mine to the washroom mirror. Continue to repeat the positive comments and feel the difference in your body. 

The ultimate goal is to bring self-defeating behaviors into the immediate field and begin the work of dismantling past ideas and concepts that are no longer serving you. Awareness, patience, and reorienting towards a new, positive internal dialog are crucial to overcoming the Topdog/Underdog introjections. 

The post Stop Self-Sabotage Using The Topdog Versus Underdog Game appeared first on Medika Life.

Ball culture describes a young African-American and Latin American underground LGBTQ+ subculture that originated in New York City, in which people “walk” (i.e., compete) for trophies, prizes, and glory at events known as balls. Ball culture consists of events that mix performance, dance, lip-syncing, and modeling — Wikipedia

I had the recent pleasure to witness a mini creative adaption of Ball culture, an exercise inspiring people to walk against a musical soundtrack in different genders and express unique emotions and scenarios. The joy, experimentation, and personal realizations were surprising and, in some instances, profound.

For coaches and therapists who wish to integrate ball culture into their practice, let’s explore the unique multi-dimensional exercise to unearth new truths and spark personal curiosity while ensuring the activity is built inside a psychologically safe container.

The Toronto Gestalt Psychotherapy center hosted the virtual embodiment exploration of gender exercise. Here, everyone is encouraged to participate while recognizing the spectrum; for some people, gender is top of mind, whereas, for others, it is an afterthought. Within the Gestalt therapy context, each individual is welcome to explore Ball culture in their own experience of personal embodiment.

Facilitator Instructions

In a safe space, encourage participants to explore their sexuality through movement and sound. The mini Ball culture exercise provides room to perform deep personal work, especially from the lens of childhood, upbringing, and culture.

Given our bodies hold onto memories, for some people, the topic of gender identity is more present than others. Before the activity, remind individuals to stay aware of the shifts, transitions, and sensations occurring within their body in the here and now. And to pay close attention to what happens when in contact with self, out of contact, and everything in between.

Finally, encourage people to use their face, hands, spine, pelvis, feet placement, shoulders, arms — as much of their bodies as they can form a complete experience.

Facilitators, prepare the following either in person or online:

• Ensure everyone has a safe, clutter-free space to walk.
• People can perform the walk any way they chose.
• Adjust video camera to point to the walking space.
• Allow individuals to keep their camera on or off; individual choice.
• Ask participants to feel the polarities of the categories.
• Do not force emotions or sensations; see what comes up.
• There is a performative aspect to the exercise; have fun.
• Facilitators must play inspiring music to accompany the role play. And to remain authentic to Ball, consider selections similar to the proposed list below.
• As the music plays, the Facilitator will call out each category in the below list for attendees to embody and role play/perform the walk: a sensual female.

How can you encourage an authentic mini-ball experience? Wikipedia further explains:

Attendees dance, vogue, walk, pose, and support one another in numerous drag and performance competition categories. Categories are designed to simultaneously epitomize and satirize various genders and social classes, while also offering an escape from reality.

Here is an example from the Latex Ball, 2019; keep in mind the following video is part of an actual competition. Our exercise is a micro-scaled-down version to introduce people to Ball culture.

Now let’s look at potential music tracks to consider for the role-play exercise.

Sound Track Examples

1. It’s Just (House of Dupree), Leon Vynehall

I chose this track for two reasons. First, the beat has the perfect rhythm for participants to walk and express themselves. And second, the introduction provides a brief historical context into Ball culture, discussing the emergence of “Houses.”

The culture extends beyond the extravagant events as many participants in ball culture also belong to groups known as “houses,” a longstanding tradition in LGBT communities, and racial minorities, where chosen families of friends live in households together, forming relationships and community to replace families of origin from which they may be estranged.

Wikipedia

Paris Dupree, whom the song is named after, was the founding member and mother of the House of Dupree, which mobilized young, urban gays to express themselves in ways that mainstream America could not quite understand in the 1970s. He is also credited to be an originator to the vogue dance movement, vogueing being the imitation of models in magazines and runways.

Here is an excellent video explaining the concepts to learn more about Houses and a House Mother or Father.

2. Vogue, Madonna

Not only is the song an instant, timeless classic, but it also holds an immediate association with Ball culture, the music designed for the catwalk.

3. The Girl Is Mine (featuring Destiny’s Child & Brandy), 99 Souls

A one-hit wonder and throwback, people will recognize the remixed voices of Destiny’s Child and Brandy. Beyonce, once part of Destiny’s Child, holds particular relevance to Ball culture.

Now that we have a potential music selection, let’s move to the possible categories.

Role-Playing Categories

The following list is non-exhaustive and here for suggestion only. As a Facilitator, you are welcome to design your selection to suit what character, emotions, and body parts you want participants to focus on. In the session I attended this week, the following categories were experienced:

• Man — exaggerate masculine traits.
• Woman — exaggerate female traits.
• Sex siren.
• An important business person — who owns the space.
• VIP feminine.
• VIP masculine.
• Anger masculine.
• Anger feminine.
• Afraid in current gender.
• Afraid masculine.
• Sensual as current self.
• Sensual feminine.
• Sensual masculine.
• Super attractive.

At the end of the playlist and catwalk performance, the Facilitator asks participants to walk it off, shake off their character,s and return to their chair or screens.

Debrief

To conclude the exercise, ensure a debrief, engaging in discussion to understand the impact on participants. Facilitators, here are some powerful questions to use as a guide.

• How did you feel entering into the exercise? Did you experience any resistance?
• What constricts and what opens up in your body?
• What felt at ease for you?
• What stirred up for you?
• What are your reflections?
• Please think of the following areas that affect how we view our gender: parents/upbringing, culture, age, and stage of life. Did any memories or considerations emerge for you?
• What different body parts did you notice the most when you switched personas? An example is how we use our hips or shoulders when we moved from feminine to masculine or use the chest popping in and out.
• For people who are a mixed-race culture (for example: Canadian or Amerian with a Latin background), did you notice an emergence or expression from your country of origin or subtleties on how you responded to the music between the two?
• What is this like to try and be androgynous— possessing both masculine and feminine characteristics.

Take The Exercise One Step Further

If time permits, either in person or online, Facilitators can pair people into groups of two and request participants performative walks for one another, followed by a more intimate, collaborative discussion. The intent is to go deeper in the small grouper, unearthing personal realizations about the self.

To Conclude

Ball culture is fascinating and exhilarating to watch. And the intent of the mini-scaled-down version of the exercise is from a psychotherapeutic perspective of encouraging people to explore the multi-dimensions of their gender by feeling the body’s response in a safe environment. I hope the exercise enlightens and delights you — as much as it did me.

Resources

• Wikipedia — Ball Culture
• The Atlantic — In the Kiki Ballroom Scene, Queer Kids of Color Can, Be Themselves
• Esquire — 24 Photos that Spotlight t, and rise of Ballroom and Drag Culture

The post Try This Exercise For An Embodied Exploration of Gender appeared first on Medika Life.

The purpose of the article is to explore the benefits of performing a therapist-client or coach-coachee survey. Next, I look at why defining private practice goals allows a pathway to measure assessment feedback against. I look at a potential set of criteria to define the client assessment. Finally, the article investigates what available applications exist in the market today to solicit, gather and make sense of the data. We have a lot to unpack; let’s get started. 

The Background

At this moment, I see an absence of therapists and coaches requesting performance assessments from their clients — unless the practitioner takes matters into their own hands. Let’s examine the challenge through a personal example. 

All students who study Gestalt Psychotherapy must accumulate 50 hours of therapy with a more experienced Gestalt practitioner before the end of Year 3. Through this process, the therapist-in-training gains client hours towards becoming certified while I, the client, can witness firsthand the use of Gestalt in action. The therapist-in-training must write detailed notes regarding their client experience and submit the forms to the Gestalt faculty for review through their mentorship program. All of this sounds great. Except I see one fundamental flaw. 

Where is the voice of the client providing feedback on their experience with the therapist? How will the therapist know if they are truly supporting the needs of their clients?

The current method allows the Gestalt therapist to provide their inherent bias on the quality of the interaction with the client rather than allowing a holistic client-therapist-program feedback loop. When writing this article, I am engaging with Gestalt faculty on this critical question and will update the notes section once I have answers. 

Define Your Goals For Private Practice 

I believe in the importance of goal setting, even when establishing a psychotherapy or coaching practice. Knowing your goals will allow you to measure against them and to adjust and pivot based on client feedback. Examples of goals statements may include:

• I desire to work with people who possess a burning passion for change.
• My client base will remain small and focused, allowing for five people at a given time. 
• I will strive to be present and available at all times during client conversations.

While the above statements are not concrete, the qualitative nature will allow me to measure whether change over some time will occur for clients, what it is like to have a small base of people to work with, and whether others perceive my ability to be present. For those of you who are already seeing clients, do you have goals? Are your original goals the same as they are today? 

Criteria To Assess Client Impact

Like so many before me, in the Fall of 2021, I will find myself a part of the Gestalt student clinic and work with clients in the earlier stages of their psychotherapy learning career. The difference is — I’m from the corporate world and understand the value of data and analytics; in particular, my fascination lies in how data tells a story. Based on my personal experience, the following questions emerge:

• How can I utilize qualitative data from my clients to gauge overall performance? 
• How can I engage with clients in a friendly, engaging way to solicit feedback while avoiding a cold, factual approach?
• How often should I extend outreach to clients? What is the healthy balance to obtain just enough feedback promptly?
• Based on the data, where are opportunities to pivot?
• How can I evolve my practice to ensure I am at my best in every interaction? 

Through this lens, the following sample assessment criteria are under consideration and applied to therapists and coaches. 

•  In what ways can the therapist-client relationship be strengthened? 
• Trust is the foundation upon which the therapist and client perform the work. Are there ways to further develop and strengthen trust in our sessions? 
• Do you have an interest in exploring other ways to collaborate during therapy sessions? And if so, what activities do you gravitate towards?
• In our initial sessions, we established a Design Alliance. Are there areas we need to refine to improve our mutual approach? 
• How likely are you to recommend psychotherapy services to a friend or family member?

Once the assessment criteria are more formalized and data gathered, my objective is to ensure the results are transparent on my website. Honesty and integrity are building blocks of private practice, and I believe this behavior has a powerful appeal for others seeking therapeutic or coaching services. 

Applications To Obtain Client Feedback

Online surveys and options to request client feedback are plentiful. The following list is courtesy of Zapier and amended for this article: 

• SurveyPlanet for beginners.
• Typeform creates visually appealing surveys.
• SurveyMonkey for creating surveys on a phone or tablet.
• LimeSurvey for self-hosted surveys.
• QuickTapSurvey for offline surveys.
• YesInsights for one-click surveys.
• Surveybot for chatbot surveys on Facebook.
• SmartSurvey for collaborating on survey questions.
• SurveyGizmo for optimizing your surveys.
• Constant Contact includes helpful survey builders.

To Conclude

The article explores the importance of possessing clear goals to operate a therapy or coaching practice. Over time, collecting qualitative data from clients will demonstrate the quality of therapeutic sessions and showcase areas where I excel and others where I need to pivot and improve. If any readers have direct experience gathering client data in your therapy or coaching practice, please reach out; I will love to learn best practices as I get closer to opening a private clinic. 

The post How Do Therapists And Coaches Know If They’re Impacting Clients? appeared first on Medika Life.