I was sitting in a Doctor's surgery the other day with a client and his wife, waiting to attend a meeting with his GP. I was filling in at short notice for a colleague, so I had not met these people prior to this encounter and I had not spoken to them on the phone before. After the usual introductions and pleasantries, we waited for the appointment. The client's wife then proceeded to tell me about all the client's health problems, all her health issues, the Doctor we were seeing's life situation and her husband's sexual performance. This was all done in a stage whisper that everyone else in the room would have heard. This is from someone who I had only met 20 minutes before.
As an allied health professional, it is very useful to have an instant rapport with those you are working with as the issues we deal with are often very private and personal. To have someone's trust that quickly is very helpful to make an assessment of someone's needs.
I am pretty used to having people share their lives with me - and it is something I do not take for granted, it is a privilege - but I am certainly not used to it being laid bare in 20 minutes as it was this day. I usually have to work a bit harder. I will say the client had that look on his face as though he hasn't got a word in for the last 5 years and knows that it would be futile to try.
I am not a sharer and I don't tend to trust that quickly - I know, I know, I expect from others, but then don't give of myself - noted and working on it! I am very open and honest about health issues as that is an area I am comfortable with, but personal issues and feelings, not so much. This is why having a blog is an interesting exercise for me. I am not a journal person, as I was always worried that someone might read it and judge me, mainly worried they wouldn't find it interesting enough. These are things that are on my mind with every blog post I write as there are some writers that have set the bar very high. I do believe that the best writers and posts are those that are written with honesty and openness. The rawness seems to be the most engaging. It is something that I have to get my head around, and I will try to do each time. I don't think I am going to get to the level of sharing that my client's wife is at, but baby steps and we will see where that leads us!
Do you find sharing easy? Do you share easily with health professionals or do they need to earn your trust?
Happy Monday!
Chantel x
1 comments:
Would you really want to get to that level of sharing? I find it rather scary when people just launch into their life at the drop of a hat. I think part of me thinks they must be very lonely to not have 'real' people to share that stuff with...
I think you do just fine! x
Post a Comment