Even without experiencing pain, many of us find it challenging to describe what’s going with and inside us. Right now, as you are reading these words, can you realistically describe how you really are? What are you feeling? What’s going on inside you?

One of the biggest troubles many of our clients face is that they don’t actually know what their body feels like. Many of us have become disassociated from our physiques, either consciously or unconsciously. Recognising how living a ‘disembodied’ life impacts their health and well-being, practically all those who work with us aim to correct this. Yet, even after months of progressive bodywork, it can still be hard to describe our inner-state accurately and meaningfully.

The art of therapeutic deciphering

Therapeutic bodywork excellence does not solely rely on a mastery of techniques and methods. While it is of course important for therapists to master the required manual and tactile skills, true mastery goes beyond knowing where to apply these. Knowing which and how they should be used properly is much harder.

In all this, effectiveness is only one side of the coin. Safety is the other. Approaches that may seem right and appropriate for one client may not be safe for another. Although we are pretty much the same anatomically, how we use our body physically and physiologically will always differ from person to person. As my life’s story will not the same as yours, the ways our body has been formed throughout those periods will certainly be unique.

This is why some complex puzzling ensues in your bodywork therapist’s mind when you ask them to help with solving a trauma related issue. Normally, deciding which techniques or methods could be used is pretty straight forward. Knowing how to apply each should be gospel to professionals too. However, when it comes to deciding how each should be used is a different story because it’s here where trade-offs must be made between effectiveness and a client’s comfort and safety.

It is therefore paramount for bodywork therapists to learn as much about their clients as can be achieved during sessions. The challenge often is that even with the greatest interviewing and diagnostic skills, therapists become usually hampered by their client’s inability to accurately describe their concerns.

Does a pain originate deep, or more to the surface? What does the pain feel like? When does it seem to get better – or worse? What could have caused it? What other concerns could be linked to it? Clients often do not know the answers to those questions at the time of their visit and may feel silly because of that. Yet, in order to provide treatments that are both effective and safe, the therapist must have such questions answered to proceed efficiently and accurately.

Usually, that’s not easy.

Empowering clients to explain

Instead of chastising clients for their inability to explain something as complex as pain, sensations, and feelings, I believe that therapists can do more to help them out. I believe that most of the problem can be solved not only by asking clients ‘better’ questions at the time of their visit but to help them prepare for them, well before a bodywork session starts.

Many of the questions that will be asked – such as the ones asked above – are pretty much stock standard. If a client is given opportunities to respond to these before she walks through the practice’s door it is not only likely that this will save diagnostic time but also that the therapist received answers that are more accurate and complete. What’s perhaps even more important is that when the client understands what she needs to observe and monitor in her own body to answer pre-session questions, she may learn more about herself in the process too. That, by itself, is already a compelling argument.

Introducing our AHB Concern Check Sheet

Over the last few weeks I have been keeping track of the pre-session questions I’ve asked my clients most frequently. Alongside this list I noted how clients were likely to answer – and if they were able to answer each in the first place. I revised my questions to make them easier to answer and observed some ease in my clients when I succeeded.

It was like going back to my Clinical Assessment classes in which we were taught how to conduct assessment conversations with clients best.

The result of this exercise is what’s now referred to as our AHB Concern Check Sheet. Other therapists may consider this sheet ‘just’ an Intake Form – but this document is a little different. Instead of completing it once at the time of their intake, clients can now use it before each session to structure their concerns.

Registered clients can download and complete the sheet whenever they consider this useful. It can then be discussed at the time of their visit, just before their next bodywork session commences. Both clients and the therapist can then make either paper or digital copies of the completed form which, over time, creates an archive of treatment records. Because the client submits the form, the information held in this archive is known to the client.

Preference for simplicity

There is an art and science to designing bodywork treatments that are both safe and effective. Unless the therapist wants to fall back routinely on the basic treatment techniques that were taught in school some degree of puzzling and deciphering will be required to ensure optimised treatments remain both functional and comfortable for the client. Although achieving this requires a great deal of therapeutic skill, expertise, and experience, it doesn’t need to be more complex than it needs to be.

Our brand-new Concern Check Sheet is designed to improve our communication with our clients. It helps us to keep our bodywork therapies on-point and to continuously improve the design and delivery of our treatments.

By making such improvements continuously we aim to remain the bodywork practice of your choice.

We are keen to receive your feedback!