Category: Writings

I’ve written recently about “deep models” used to explain the experiences we as therapists have in the clinic, and it’s only fair that I offer my own. By deep model I mean the description of those processes occurring beyond our vision or sensation that ultimately account for what we observe empirically. Deep models are essential if we are to understand… Read more →

Try not. Do or do not. There is no try. Yoda Touching another can be done in many ways. Traditional manual therapy seems to be mainly about coercing tissue in one direction or another. Whether that’s done with great force or gently, slowly or rapidly, I don’t really think it makes a whole lot of difference. Of course, my colleagues… Read more →

Empiricists are not equipped to recognise the loud signals of alternative medicine as false. A deep model of the physical world is essential for choosing hypotheses to be tested and for learning from failures. Practices of alternative medicine that do not fit even at the far fringes of the model should not be tested in humans. Our decisions on which… Read more →

I read the book The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger (Harper Torch 1997) recently and was reminded of times in the past when I tried to use the ocean as a metaphor for the body. I thought I’d use a few quotes from the book and elsewhere to do this again. A boat’s motion can be thought of as an… Read more →

The Universe is not an idea of mine; My idea of the universe is an idea of mine. Night doesn’t fall before my eyes; My idea of night falls before my eyes. Apart from my thinking and my having thoughts The night concretely falls, And the stars’ shimmering exists like a weighable thing. Fernando Pessoa 1 October 1917 Seated at… Read more →

“I was bored. I stopped thinking and put my hand on his head, but I wasn’t unobservant, although, I actually felt that I fell asleep several times. When the man got up from the table, he said, ‘That’s the best lesson I have ever had.’ That was a major change in my life.” Moshe Feldenkrais quoted in In Touch Newsletter… Read more →

There is a distinct difference between your desire and your intention. When you desire something, you are attached to the outcome. Intention, on the other hand, is desire without any attachment to the outcome. You intend to do something, but you are no longer obsessed with the idea. By letting go of desire and by participating with detached involvement, you… Read more →

…in some states unlicensed personnel are legally allowed to administer modalities and provide some level of care. The problem is that other states do not, and aside from legal issues, all PTs should operate under a professional code of ethics stricter than most laws…In some states, then, it may be perfectly legal for PTs to delegate an unethically high level… Read more →

The human mind is most at home somewhere between perfect order and perfect chaos. Creativity thrives on a balance of the fluid and the firm. Chet Raymo in Skeptics and True Believers If you practice as a physical therapist these days you often have two choices. You can stick to a fairly rigid protocol of methods that have been institutionalized… Read more →

I recently found an old manila envelope beneath a pile of personal papers in one of my desk drawers. It contained my report card from kindergarten. The year was 1957. To me, this simple two-page document is an excellent example of what our culture thinks is important to consider when grading the performance of a five-year-old. According to the check… Read more →