Today I d/c a patient who really didn't show much progress towards her
goals. I previously sent a message as sort of a case study. I used two
standardized measures, the Geriatric Depression Rating Scale and the
COPM. Unbelievably, her discharge GDRS score showed a substantial
increase in depression and her COPM scores are as follows:
(Performance/Satisfaction)
Initial Discharge
Ambulate to bathroom with walker: 5/3 8/8
Feed Self without spilling food: 10/5 3/1
So, despite these meager outcomes, the patient was adamant that I had
helped her. I wanted to pursue the situation but opted to just let it
lie. But, I can't help but wonder why someone who didn't make much
measurable progress felt that they had been helped. As you may
suspect, I have a theory...
Somewhere in my "travels", I came across the following statement:
=====================================================================
"Often what appears to make a difference is the sense that we matter
to someone else in a genuine way. Good therapy is part of the general
human condition to be connected and to matter."
SOURCE: Tryssenaar, J. (1997). Clinical Interpretation of
Understanding Professional Behavior: Experiences of
Occupational Therapy Students inn Mental Health Settings.
AJOT 51(8). "
======================================================================
This patient lives in an ALF, her daughter visits regularly, but I
can't help wondering if somehow my therapy, just being there, made
enough of a difference in this sweet woman's life that she felt
helped! It's these type of phenomena that make the profession of OT
such as sweet, intriguing and perplexing profession.
Ron
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