So I have this client…
She sees me regularly, about 1x/month.
When I first met her, I honestly didn’t know what to do with her because she would either no show her appointment or come in late with such “serious” issues that she would take time off work for, and, anytime I would put my hands on her she would almost jump off the table in pain.
When I say put my hands on her, I literally mean, put my hands on her, such as when I would move the linen out of the way.
Not only was she sensitive to my touch, but I could tell that she was also very sensitive with any sensation she felt in her body. For instance, she would tell me she would turn a certain way and feel a pop then all the sudden she couldn’t walk. Or, she would say she could feel popping in her shoulder, then I asked if she felt pain when it popped, she said no. So I proceeded to explain that popping is a normal sensation that sometimes can happen when air is being released from the joint space and then she took back what she said to then say the popping does bring on pain.
She was my very first experience with a highly sensitive client.
Now, I consider myself a highly sensitive person too. I learned that this is a genuine trait that people are born with. I DEFINITELY suggest reading The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine Aron. This has been a huge game changer for me in how I look at myself and how I can read others in and out of the treatment room.
Being a highly sensitive person, you are hyper aware of EVERYTHING. You feel differently than most of the population, you might even see, hear, and smell more acutely too. You often notice minor details in things that others miss. This is an evolutionary trait to help us sense danger near and far.
This trait doesn’t just affect how we perceive our external environment but our internal one too.
For my client, who doesn’t necessarily have knowledge on the human body, any sensation that isn’t normal is thought to be dangerous and detrimental.
One day, this client came to me saying she had shortness of breath. I knew right away she didn’t have that because there wasn’t a second where she was out of breath talking to me so I knew this idea was made up in her head.
It took me months to figure out how to treat this client. Here is what I have gathered so far…
She, like everyone, just wants to feel validated. The last thing someone wants you to do is brush off their problem because its nothing. I learned to validate her experience with my body language and verbal language. I’d raise my eyebrows when she would tell me something was off or I would say “wow that must’ve been awful” even when in reality it was nothing. I noticed that the more I did this, the more she began to trust me during treatments.
Even when I would use feather like pressure, I would act as though it was making a difference and say things like “oh I feel that releasing” or “its letting go, I’m going to hang here a bit longer”. I did this the other day in her diaphragm and this seemed to make a difference in how she perceived her apparent shortness of breath.
I often let her guide the treatment in terms of pressure. Rather than me instinctively going my usual pressure, I start lighter and tell her to let me know when she needs more in an area. For her, it varies always, so giving her that control of the pressure helps her trust me.
When I did these little things, she stopped no showing and comes early to every appointment. She now comes in saying that the previous treatment made a difference, although usually slightly, but I take that as a win.
As frustrating as she was at the start, I now enjoy when she comes in because she opens up to me and we actually make some progress in her treatments.
Don’t give up on your highly sensitive clients. Learn to identify them and meet them where they are at.
At the end of the day, that is what we are getting paid to do right? Meet people where they are at and guide them (sometimes gently) to where they want to be.
Have you had a client like this? Are you like this? Lets chat about it!
Hope you enjoyed this read! Being a highly sensitive person is something I have learned to embrace and love about myself. I plan on writing more about the highly sensitive trait in future posts and I can't wait to share those with you!
Thanks for reading!
~Felicia
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