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What is typical physical therapy session like?
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Julia’s Answer
Hi Jessica -
I am a PT living and working in Austin TX but I was born and raised in NY.
I noticed that you had several questions about typical physical therapy session, how to set goals and how many women in our profession. So let me give you my insight
First, as far as the number of women in PT....On the East Coast ( where I had been a PT patient post ACL reconstruction and did some research about the profession prior to going to PT school) it was predominantly a "male" profession. Growing up I was always more comfortable around guys. However, when I moved to Texas to complete my doctorate in Physical Therapy I found that here and in a large portion of the south there are more women in the profession.
Second, a typical physical therapy session.... "It Depends." (the most annoying statement and answer you will hear during PT school) What that means is that a session can vary depending on the type of patient population your are treating as well as location of treatment. I worked predominantly in out-patient orthopedics (higher level and active/sports people) but I also work in an assisted living facility where most of my patients are elderly and some terminally ill.
Those differences will dictate the types of exercises and activity training that you will focus on during your sessions. It will also determine the types of interventions (ex. manual therapy techniques and/or modalities) that you will incorporate into your sessions.
There is also an element of treatment codes that may influence your sessions but that you can learn about in school.
Lastly your question on how to set patient goals.... simplest answer and in my opinion is to ask the patient. ALL goals should reflect what the patient wants to achieve at the end of their treatment with you. Your role as a therapist is to figure out what it will take to assist the patient in reaching that goal. Ex. a patient wants to be able to walk without a walker but when you test their leg muscles you realize that they are too weak... So you would set a long term goal for the patient to walk without a walker and a short term goal to increase the patient's leg strength to 4 out of 5 (manual muscle testing score).
But always involve the patient in goal setting and always check in with the patient about how they perceive their progress … it establishes a respectful caring rapport with your patients and allows them to feel empowered as a vital part of their own recovery process.
I have been on the receiving end of physical therapy for more years than I have been practicing and I had much better outcomes when my therapists designed a program that was "Specific" to my personal needs and goals.
I hope that helps answer your questions.
Best of luck
Julia
I am a PT living and working in Austin TX but I was born and raised in NY.
I noticed that you had several questions about typical physical therapy session, how to set goals and how many women in our profession. So let me give you my insight
First, as far as the number of women in PT....On the East Coast ( where I had been a PT patient post ACL reconstruction and did some research about the profession prior to going to PT school) it was predominantly a "male" profession. Growing up I was always more comfortable around guys. However, when I moved to Texas to complete my doctorate in Physical Therapy I found that here and in a large portion of the south there are more women in the profession.
Second, a typical physical therapy session.... "It Depends." (the most annoying statement and answer you will hear during PT school) What that means is that a session can vary depending on the type of patient population your are treating as well as location of treatment. I worked predominantly in out-patient orthopedics (higher level and active/sports people) but I also work in an assisted living facility where most of my patients are elderly and some terminally ill.
Those differences will dictate the types of exercises and activity training that you will focus on during your sessions. It will also determine the types of interventions (ex. manual therapy techniques and/or modalities) that you will incorporate into your sessions.
There is also an element of treatment codes that may influence your sessions but that you can learn about in school.
Lastly your question on how to set patient goals.... simplest answer and in my opinion is to ask the patient. ALL goals should reflect what the patient wants to achieve at the end of their treatment with you. Your role as a therapist is to figure out what it will take to assist the patient in reaching that goal. Ex. a patient wants to be able to walk without a walker but when you test their leg muscles you realize that they are too weak... So you would set a long term goal for the patient to walk without a walker and a short term goal to increase the patient's leg strength to 4 out of 5 (manual muscle testing score).
But always involve the patient in goal setting and always check in with the patient about how they perceive their progress … it establishes a respectful caring rapport with your patients and allows them to feel empowered as a vital part of their own recovery process.
I have been on the receiving end of physical therapy for more years than I have been practicing and I had much better outcomes when my therapists designed a program that was "Specific" to my personal needs and goals.
I hope that helps answer your questions.
Best of luck
Julia
Updated
Margaret’s Answer
As time goes on and a counselor has established a relationship with a client, a typical session may start with a "check-in" where the therapist may provide a re-cap of the previous session and give the client a chance to say how things have been going since they last met. This should guide the session but there should also be a focus on the overall goal (see previous answer about setting goals in therapy). Sometimes as a therapist you may have ideas of things to work on in a session but the client comes in with something pressing and you have to switch gears to address that. The client's responses should typically guide the session (unless it is more teaching therapy or solution-focused therapy).