New age technology
When I mention that I practise shiatsu some people assume that I sit around drinking tofu tea, spend my evenings levitating, and reading up on the latest trend in quackery. It is the same if you admit to doing something away from the crowd.
But people still come to practitioners of natural health; it is a growing interest for many people. But do they bring their ideas with them? What do they expect when they come to a shiatsu or acupuncture therapist for the first time?
I only ask these questions because I have been thinking about the Shiatsu client management package I want to write. I have going through all the ideas that I might implement not only on this system but on the website I will be creating to support my practise. If I were to implement them then my practise would be very different from many others.
I have an IT background and these ideas seem natural to me but is it a good idea to be a geek natural health therapist? Would potential clients feel disappointed if I was not found sitting in a perfect lotus writing on recycled parchment?
While shiatsu is about human contact and Chinese medicine teaches us to use the body’s natural energy system to heal there is nothing to say we cannot have a web presence or use a laptop. While a few clients might want the full-on natural experience I am sure most people want shiatsu to exist in the real world. And that means taking advantage of the good bits of modern society.
As you are reading this blog post I assume you do not suffer from technophobia but at what point do you draw a line in computer use? How do you use technology to support your own practise?
Tony Brown @ September 24, 2007
I have given this one some thought too, when projecting into the future about how I might organize my practice. I like the idea of using a fully computerised system but whether this would just be for taking booking etc I don’t know. My fear is that if used to take notes, write up diagnosis, etc., then it might create a barrier between practitioner and client. When using a computer in the treatment room you
are by definition sitting behind something. Like when you go and see a G.P. they are often behind a desk behind a computer. I love tech and think that it would be a great way to organise client information. Making them searchable by keyword for example would be very useful and to be able to pull up all past info at the click of a button would be great too. All these things may need typing up after the event and how practical this would be I don’t know… I suppose it depends on your skill and fluidity in using a computer in a way that is non invasive…
Rob,
I agree that we should not be behind a screen. I like using paper to take notes because a lot of information comes out of sequence and paper is the easiest way to get all that down, draw arrows, cross out etc. But after the treatment I spend time reorganising those notes and rewriting them to hand in as a homework record. At this point one can get behind a screen and record the treatment techie style.
In the end it’s all about balance. While I think it would be ultimately unwieldy to use a computer during the intake process, I think we would be simply stupid to turn away from the tools that technology provides. We simply need to balance our use of computers and other technology with our time away from them. Further, we should do our best to investigate the health detriments of any technological implements we use and try to mitigate the negative effects. But we shouldn’t be obsessed, even about this. The body is capable of ordering itself against a wide variety of inputs, and our capable Asian medicine practitioners can help us keep in balance even if we do engage in some practices that are less than totally healthy.
I’d be very interested in seeing what you produce, despite the fact that it might not be of special interest to me as a non Shiatsu practitioner.
Eric