Does your career as an osteopath need some treatment?

“I'm really struggling being an osteopath.”

A lot of people struggle with their careers from time to time; and many osteopaths certainly do. There can be a range of root causes behind this, and I’ve realised that a lot of the resources and other stuff I’ve developed over my highly-chequered career could be useful to people who are struggling with their own osteopathic careers. So I offer a service to my colleagues: osteopathic treatment for your career as an osteopath.

What do you get?

This isn't exactly “coaching” or “career counselling” (apart from anything else it is probably a lot less expensive, because you don't have to sign up for a pre-set number of sessions); although they might be involved if they are what you need. This is about helping you get unstuck, if you are feeling that you aren’t getting where you want to be and don’t quite know what to do about it.

You might be feeling run-down and/or burned-out. You might be going through a time of wondering whether you are achieving anything with you patients. You might be questioning whether you have done the right thing studying osteopathy in the first place. You might be frustrated because you would like more patients. You might be exhausted and would like fewer patients. It might be something else.

I won’t offer you glib solutions for any of these problems. You drive the process all the way; I’m just be the facilitator/resource person; who you can call on when you find it is useful. As I would for a patient, I will help you to to pinpoint the underlying issues and then help you find your own solution.

How does it work, what does it cost?

It's the same amount I charge for a suburban osteopathic appointment, plus GST (currenlty $80 for half an hour, or proportionally more than that if you want to talk for longer). I’ll work with you the way I work with patients: which means, among other things, you don’t need to commit to a pre-defined number of sessions: I will be aiming to get you into a position where you are happy to progress things yourself, as soon as possible.

This could end up going in a range of directions. To give you an idea of possibilities:

* A simple-to-use, iPad-based electronic visual analogue scale, so that you can easily track your results with patients, and we can work through together whether: (i) your treatments are working fine, and you are just down on yourself; or (ii) you really do need to re-think your approach with some or all of your patients.

* An Individual Motivational Profile. This is a conversation- and narrative-based approach that will help you to be clearer about what really inspires your passion. From this, we may decide that: (i) osteopathy isn’t for you; in which case we can talk through options that will work better for you, and how to transition towards them; (ii) osteopathy can provide part of your job satisfaction, but you need other things in your work-life to be really content; (iii) osteopathy isn’t the problem, but the way you are practicing is; or (iv) osteopathy really suits you; we need to look elsewhere to understand your dissatisfaction.

* Biochemical testing, to help you work out why you are exhausted and have lost your “sparkles”. (For most of the people I have worked with so far, the main underlying issue was actually biochemical burnout).

* Business coaching, using a leading-edge, on-line, practice-diagnosis and coaching system, to help you to have a patient load and practice that works better for you.

I’m based in Sydney, but this can be done remotely, through messaging and Skype/Facetime. (Biochemical testing is difficult for me outside of Australia; anything else can be done from anywhere in the world.)

What makes me qualified to offer this?

I have a diverse professional background that spans learning and development, corporate consulting, business coaching, career counselling, systems development and osteopathy. Bringing these together, I am able to help people better understand what’s going on in both their mind and their body, and point them towards a way to address these issues. Being an osteopath myself, I get it. I know how incredibly demanding, how rewarding, but how undervalued (by those who aren't our patients) what we offer can be.

How do we get started?

To book your first session, go on line. Book a treatment at Mortdale, as that is the cheapest, and gives the most flexibility about how long you want to talk for. Then send me a text or email, so that I know that this will be this kind of session, not a hands-on treatment. In your text let me know how you would prefer to communicate (face-to-face, Skype, FaceTime or telephone), with your contact details.