I'm A PT: This Program Has Revolutionized The Way I Provide Care

As someone who's always lived an active lifestyle and been passionate about health and well-being, physical therapy was a natural career choice for me. However, after getting my doctoral degree and seeing patients, I realized that the current model for PT in America is broken.

Oftentimes, people are not referred to a physical therapist when they first report feeling pain. Only after multiple procedures, surgeries, and/or medications do they find their way to us.

Many PTs also have high workloads that prevent them from spending enough time with their patients. This leads to a cycle where many patients go in and out the door—but very few of them have their pain treated at the root level.

Late last year, I had a significant health experience that put me in the hospital for a week and made it impossible to carry out my (very physical) job as a PT.

I had been curious about a career in health coaching since I was a teenager, and the mentorship aspect of coaching was something that I'd been craving more of in my current work. I figured my time off was a good opportunity to explore what becoming a health coach would entail, so I joined one of mindbodygreen's Q&A sessions to hear about their HCC program.

I learned that the 20-week course was administered virtually, and the flexible hours meant that I could complete it while still seeing patients as a PT. I wanted to become a certified health coach at the end of the process, and mindbodygreen's NBHWC-approved program allowed me to do that. The logistics were promising, but what really sold me on HCC was its emphasis on mind-body-spirit healing. I knew from my own health journey that no pain or illness is ever just physical—there are so many other components that go into it—so I took the leap and signed up.

Now that I've wrapped up the HCC program, I plan to take the health coaching board exam next year after I complete my practice sessions with clients. I'm confident that HCC prepared me for the exam: Each lesson was thoroughly explained and thoughtfully presented, and the quizzes and study guides helped make everything more digestible. I also appreciated that lessons were recorded so I can refer back to them as a refresher at any time.

But more importantly than prepping me for an exam, HCC gave me a new perspective on patient care. I've already noticed that the way I evaluate patients as a PT has changed. Instead of sitting down with a client and telling them what they need to work on, I take more time to really listen to them and reflect on where they feel they're lacking. When I approach care from a more open-minded and receptive place, I've found that I can better support my clients. So many of them already know how they can start feeling better; they just need to be given the opportunity to express it.

After years of feeling disillusioned with the medical system as a physical therapist, completing mindbodygreen's Health Coach Certification program has shown me a better way of providing care.