"One cannot treat [those struggling with an eating disorder] from the "outside," meaning treating the patient/client in a one-person - [professional]/patient-interpretation "delivered" model. A two-person model of co-construction of meaning between patient and [professional] is necessary."
Healthcare professionals do not "do for" patients/clients, we "work with" these individuals.
A truly collaborative model of care, values the patient/client's input as a legitimate source of expertise that can pair with our own clinical knowledge, and support them in their journeys.
Our clinical understanding of an illness or disease process is only useful insofar as this knowledge is situated in the context of our patient/client's life.
What is the reality of their day-to-day existence? What resources are truly accessible? What is their financial situation? What other impacts extend beyond the very limited interaction between clinician's and patients/clients that inevitably impact whatever care decisions we are making?
There is no meaning to a treatment plan or recommendation without appreciating the unique context that a person exists within.
This requires us to think of the bigger picture and incorporate socioeconomic factors in any plan of care collaboratively made with a patient/client.
- S.
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