Wholistic vs. Technical Approach to Treatment
As a speech-language pathologist with nearly 15 years of experience, I have trained and worked within numerous institutions and systems that have called mostly for a very technical and linear approach to treatment. This included conducting and writing standardized assessments and providing treatment which focused on speech, language, and swallowing exercises. Performance on those exercises was measured strictly in numbers and percentages, and improvements in these numbers had to be reflected in the documentation, or else therapy would be cut short due to lack of insurance coverage.
Now that I am in private practice, the therapy exercises continue to be part of my practice, and I am trained in multiple modalities. But I’ve also added in a more wholistic approach that brings in the whole person, rather than just focusing specifically on presenting symptoms. I find it more valuable for my patients to share about their personal and professional selves in a conversational style, which supports them vocally, verbally and auditorily in a functional, real-life way. This improves word-retrieval, vocabulary, and auditory comprehension, while at the same time fostering a personalized therapeutic connection.
I also aim to empower people in their own treatment and give them a sense of their own autonomy. One part of empowerment is that there are boundaries set. In the institutional model, patients are "done to” rather than “interacted with”. I tailor-make my treatment to each person individually, taking into consideration their individual needs and wants. I don’t have a treatment formula that I use with everyone. Each person is unique, and therefore requires an individual approach. I have a treatment plan that is based on the patient’s needs and wants, and this plan evolves as I get to know them over time.
