DEFINITION
Collaborative care combines the knowledge and skills of more than one specialized health care practitioner that work together to create a complete and comprehensive approach to care. Using a team of therapists to assess the individual allows each therapist to draw upon their expertise which is shared amongst the team so that a more whole body approach can occur.
THE BREAKDOWN
When working with therapists that share a common philosophy of care, but also bring their own specific training and treatment style to the session, it allows for a fuller picture when looking at problems. Treatment plans become unique to the individuals needs. While people may present with similar problems, they all followed different paths to get there. Using a singular model to treat can result in missing important cues on how a patient got where they are and more importantly, how are they going to prevent it from happening again. Using more than one set of eyes to view the problems, allows us to see a much clearer picture.
Absolutely everyone would benefit from having a team of health care professionals working together to ensure goals are met and good health is returned. In the case of working with children, it is quite common that they often cannot express what or where the problem is. Therapists must rely on the information received from the parents, answers to the questions that they ask as well as from their hands-on assessment. While many of the children are not yet verbal, they are very good at giving the needed information through their body language. This is sometimes an obvious thing, but more often quite subtle. Listening to their bodies and feeling into the tissues gives us an enormous amount of information.
LIVEWELL MYOFASCIAL
Jennifer Spak began treating children shortly after her daughter was born in 2011. There were very few therapists that were working with this population in the hands on approach that she felt was necessary. Her daughter was in need of treatment which spurred her to continue education and open her practice to kids. Very quickly she realized that she wasn’t going to be able to treat nearly the number of kids that required care. At that point, she began looking for that right individual that would have the knowledge, experience and desire to continue learning just as she had.
When she met Jenni Young RMT, she knew within minutes she had found the right person. Jenni had a wealth of knowledge about birth, children and breastfeeding that was quite different, yet complimentary to my own. Her desire for learning along with the natural ability in her touch and observations, they were a perfect match. She also had a great name!
A TEAM WAS BORN
Problems very rarely are caused by a singular response from the body. More commonly they have many layers to them as the body adapts to the stresses present in order to find a way to continue its necessary functions. By using different modalities (techniques), they address the various layers of adaptation and work to remove the obstacles so that the body may self-heal.
Combining Manual Osteopathy and Registered Massage Therapy allows us to draw upon numerous modalities. After a full assessment, only the techniques needed to correct the adaptation will be used. These may include; Myofascial release (fascial work), visceral manipulation, Craniosacral Therapy, Reflex work, muscular strengthening, joint mobilization and alignment, soft tissue massage as well as education.
Jennifer Spak DOMP is incredibly passionate about fascial tissue and its influences on the body. Completing over 300 hours in additional fascial courses alone, she has achieved the Expert level of the John F Barnes MFR curriculum as well as completed 4 levels of Barrel’s Visceral Manipulation. She has also completed numerous Craniosacral and Fascial Distortion Model courses.
Jenni Young RMT started her vocation working as a certified yoga instructor and birth doula 17 years ago, she quickly realized that she loved studying the body and working with children. She received her certification as an Infant Massage Instructor and started building from there. After becoming a Registered Massage Therapist she has continued to take courses related to pelvic health and pediatrics.
THE HEART
Working together allows both Jennifer + Jenni to focus on their strengths in treatment. They very quickly can do what they do best. This speeds up the treatment as well as ensures that timely care is available by sharing two schedules. Typically Jennifer DOMP does the initial assessment where she identify problems and creates a treatment plan. Follow ups are carried out by both of therapists where they each focus on the concerns that are best suited to their own strengths. They are in constant communication with each other about each patient.
Jennifer + Jenni love that they can play a role in assisting parents in what might be their most important journey ever. Caring for a child is challenging at best, facing unexpected obstacles in child development can often be overwhelming. They bring a team of knowledge and support to parents in some of their most vulnerable moments with their most precious possession. Any assistance they can give is immensely rewarding and they happily give what they can to make that journey and easier one.
Collaborative care works. Sharing amongst therapists brings out strengths and lets us learn from our team. By bringing this multi viewed approach the patient benefits from the best of what they can do. It often shortens treatment times and addresses problems from multiple angles, therefore getting better outcomes.
Disclaimer - Everything shared is for informative purposes only. It is not intended for assessment, diagnosis or treatment purposes. If you feel there needs to be further investigation, please seek out a qualified health care professional for a proper assessment.