Communication with patients is key to helping them achieve maximum results from treatment. That’s why one of The Physiotherapy Centre’s senior therapists recently took part in training on neurolinguistic programming (NLP) specifically designed for clinicians.

Musculoskeletal physiotherapist, Ed Carroll completed a specialist workshop in London on Neurolinguistic Programming for Clinical Communication to find out how NLP could help Physiotherapy Centre patients maximise the benefits of their treatment.

“The advice we give to our patients is as much a part of the treatment as the hands-on therapy we provide during a consultation or exercise session. That’s where our expertise in communication comes in. NLP is about trying to understand what influences people’s behaviour and how best to communicate with patients,” says Ed. “The training demonstrated that as therapists, small changes on how we communicate with patients can make a big difference in helping them alter their behaviour once they leave our class or consultation - whether that’s sustaining improvements to posture or maintaining an exercise plan, for example.”

NLP techniques have been used in the business world for many years and are now being applied to health and therapeutic settings too.

The Physiotherapy Centre invests in continual learning and training as it is an essential part of the centre’s approach to professional staff development. Physiotherapists then go on to share their training with colleagues so that all patients benefit.