Every practitioner in complementary (alternative) medicine aims to be a “helper.” However, good intentions alone are not always enough. It is essential to develop knowledge, personal qualities, and specific skills in addition to those gained in one’s specialty.
Indeed, a diploma, professional competence, and the tools used do not guarantee the quality of the relationship between the practitioner and the client. Regardless of the field, clients have the right to expect a special relationship with their therapist. This is fundamental in the practice of complementary medicine. Practitioners have a vested interest in developing “helper” behaviors to engage their clients and achieve meaningful clinical results.
Unlike professions such as engineering, accounting, or architecture, where the person themselves is not the direct object of competence, for health practitioners, it is precisely the human being who is at the heart of their expertise.
The Helping Relationship: A Pillar of Complementary Medicine
The helping relationship is an important, if not essential, step in learning professional health assistance. It relies on key skills:
- Listening Skills
Active listening helps understand the client’s needs and concerns, which is crucial for establishing a trusting relationship. - Ability to Specify
Being able to specify means clarifying and detailing the client’s expectations and feelings, making communication more effective. - Congruence
Congruence is a central characteristic of an emotionally healthy person. It promotes alignment between what one feels internally, the awareness of what one is experiencing, and the expression of one’s behavior. Learning congruence is at the heart of the helping relationship, as it constitutes the ultimate goal for the client.
An individual seeking help experiences incongruence because they disconnect from their true self in relationships with others. Their identity is reduced to the roles they play, creating the impression of living beside themselves.
- Empathy
Empathy is, in a way, the cornerstone of the helping relationship. According to American psychologist Donelson R. Forsyth, a high level of empathy leads to positive outcomes in a client, while a low level of empathy contributes to delaying their progress.
To develop empathy, the practitioner must:
- Step back from personal concerns.
- Show flexibility to enter the client’s frame of reference.
- Be closely attuned to what the client is currently experiencing.
- Put themselves in the client’s shoes, see the world as they do, while remaining grounded in their own reality.
The Quality of the Therapeutic Relationship
The quality of the relationship between the therapist and the client is the cornerstone around which all care in complementary medicine revolves. A health professional cannot merely apply care techniques without developing a trusting relationship with their client. This partly explains the growing disillusionment with allopathic medicine and the increasing success of complementary medicine.
For more information on our training in naturopathy, nutritherapy, traditional Chinese medicine, and homeopathy, feel free to visit our website or contact us directly at (contact@cmdq.com).
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