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clear search termsIt’s Not Enough to Master the Science: the Art of Facilitating Lifestyle Change
Hi!
Although you may already be a savvy practitioner, I am certain you will learn something new in this video about ‘It’s Not Enough to Master the Science: the Art of Facilitating Lifestyle Change.’ You’ll walk away with pages of notes and practical pearls you can use in your practice right away.
Here are some of the things we’ll be discussing:
- Super sexy but not necessarily making a whit of difference? Why many medical practitioners may believe that the science is all they have to master.
- The most debilitating misconception about the power of functional medicine.
- This one, often-overlooked thing can build confidence, fire up belief, and buy time to uncover each patient’s unique root causes.
- The diagnosis is not enough. But neither is patient education! These other essentials must also be part of health care if you want to maximize your impact.
- The surprising caveat You Must Act On right from the beginning or risk creating your own practitioner exhaustion down the road.
- Fear is a poor long-term motivator. Are you able to elicit these others as an impetus for sustainable change?
- Practitioners may often unwittingly engage in this harmful practice. Are you doing it too?
- When they get off track and way off in the weeds: why this is a Good thing, depending on how You handle it.
- The fatal flaw in relegating “soft skills” to the realm of the optional, superfluous, or less important.
- THIS is often more important than you, the practitioner, having all the answers.
Thank you very much for joining in the fun and learning! Please share your detailed thoughts below in the “Ask a Question” area about what inspired you in this presentation! Include what type of practitioner you are, so that we can all see your unique perspective.
P.S. If you are passionate about transforming healthcare through the power of functional medicine, we encourage you to learn more about SAFM’s practitioner training programs. Enrollment for our next cohort is now open!
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34 Questions for “It’s Not Enough to Master the Science: the Art of Facilitating Lifestyle Change”
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Echo Macdonald says:
I really enjoyed Tracy’s points in this presentation. So hard to uncover the emotional components of self-sabotage and egoic involvement in motivation to change. Empowering change with self-affirmation and self-love can assist in this. Structuring client time in the context of identifying their strengths, their use of these strengths in other areas of their life and how to apply those strengths in the present challenges may be one way to assist them toward lifestyle change. And exploring what they identify as rewards for themselves that they can bless themselves with during their lifestyle modifications.
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Dana Rogers says:
Great talk today. It was great to be reminded that engagement is really about tapping into the patient’s “why.” It’s something that becomes more real when the patient is actually able to state it as opposed to just an unconscious wanting of health. It helps them and us to be more engaged with the pursuit and outcomes that come with healthier lifestyles. This vision and focus, along with wins along the way, increases motivation. Health is a journey and not a quick fix.
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Kristen says:
You are amazing to listen to. I agree that
people need a push and inspiration to create a habit and make it a lifestyle. Knowing they could do it isn’t enough. Guidance is necessary. -
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Lucy Bhalla says:
Enjoy today’s session! I am guilty of all the things you mentioned in the FB live! Being the RESCUER rather than the FACILITATOR! My biggest takeaway is to remember that I can’t heal them but they can heal themselves. I can facilitate, support & empower them, hold them accountable for their own healing. Motivate them by asking their WHY.. Thank you Tracy for the reminders!
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Jennifer Lin says:
I think the biggest takeaway for me is the power of faith, not only in oneself as a practitioner but also the need to convey to our patients that we can help them.
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Anne Marie Zallakian says:
I always gain insights from Tracy’s presentation. The way to inspire patients without them becoming dependent on the provider was very true. This does lead to burn out. Health lifestyle changes are very challenging and can’t be dependent on the provider doing the work. Change is hard! Thank you Tracey!!
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Lori Lamb says:
It can be very overwhelming when you are dealing with a client who has multiple issues and you feel like you need to solve them all at once. I remember from IIN a lecture where they talked about coaches being a sage on the stage and providing a safe place to be heard! I will also implement all of the foundational questions.
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Linda Case says:
Wow! What a powerful presentation! So many great reminders…finding the WHY is a big question I like to address with clients (and highly recommend the book Finding Your Why by Simon Sinek). Today’s biggest pearl was the drama triangle versus the empowerment triangle. What a wonderful visual for us as practitioners and for our clients as well! Looking forward to experiencing the 5 hours of class time you eluded to, Tracy, and heartfelt thanks for another outstanding FB Live session and your tireless pursuit to fan the flames of FM. I’m looking forward to sharing this with the other coaches in our practice.
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Mary VanNortwick says:
Today’s live session was terrific!
Tracy so clearly and concisely put the finger on the pulse of my burnout – rescuing. I was struck by the reminder of Ready, Willing, and Able and the necessity of each for people to act. I realize that I need to step back and conduct the facilitation inventory noted toward the end of the seminar to assess my approach and style better. I will be looking into the new SAFM 5-hour class to help equip me moving forward.
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Bobbie Barbrey says:
Such a grounding FB webinar. The big message for me is to ask them up front “What is your why?” Being clear on this helps to to move the patient forward with change!
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Katrin Brauer says:
Thank you for this superb session Tracy; my biggest takeaway was not to overwhelm patients with too many strategies and interventions. I have observed this a lot, both in clinics I worked in as well as in myself when I first started with functional medicine and was keen to use my new knowledge. Knowledge however does not equate to wisdom – a wise FM practitioner will tease out the big WHY of each patient and anchor this to get rapid relief. Not only will this create real change but also increase motivation to stay on track and follow through. Lots more pearls as always but this is my main takeaway reminder to remain very conscious of this pitfall and aim only for 1-2 realistic action points and support the patient on this journey. Overwhelm is the best way to lead patients to a stress response. This is a big check point for me.
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So many fantastic takeaways today, Tracy! I truly appreciate all of the Facilitating Change Webinars and today’s live, as I also believe this is how we will truly help our clients transform and we have to put our ego aside.
My two big takeaways are: 1) The importance of rotating one clinical intervention with locking in a health foundation through the client’s commitment and action step(s) to decrease overwhelm and create sustainable change step by step. 2) The importance of asking foundational questions at the intake or beginning of working together such as: How motivated are you to make X change? What is your confidence in your ability to make X change? What is your WHY behind wanting to make this change? – AND if the WHY is not answered that it be the first work done by the client to anchor to when challenges arise.
I am a grateful pharmacist who stumbled upon functional medicine and SAFM as I was seeking a change in my career after my own health journey.
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Silvia Graber says:
great reminders in today’s talk! i appreciate the reminders that we are not responsible for client’s adherance to their protocols, but are their coach in the corner, the rest is up to them. also good reminders to meet them where they are , and not to give them too many things to focus on at a time. mindset is so huge, and much of their journey is up to them. thank you!
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Loved the thumb tack example…going to use this explanation with clients! Also the importance of uncovering the real motivation for change. And I was thinking this should be revisited every so often and especially when clients fall off the wagon.