This blog entry brings together previous posts to clarify some of the points raised. Let's start with the statement that a Health Consultant does not treat illness. This means that the client is left free to give as much or as little information as they wish. There will be solutions that are tailored to the person rather than their illness. This is no radical idea:
“The good physician treats the disease; the great physician treats the patient who has the disease”
"Don't tell me what type of disease the patient has, tell me what type of patient has the disease"
Dr William Osler (1849 – 1919)
However, such a focus can more easily be held when the confounding concerns of medico-legal responsibilities are diminished; this has a liberating effect on the therapeutic relationship and opens new avenues.
If the client chooses to give only a little information then the health consultant should listen carefully, be willing to do the best they can and suggest a strategy for enabling health. You will not be burdened with having to go through the whole story all over again. If we touch on issues that you find difficult, the Health Consultant will make it very easy for you to shift the process and the positive regard towards the client would not in any way change.
Please excuse me as I end this short entry by wishing you a very fulfilling summertime.
