Heroes Not Zombies

I was struck by this passage in Gavin Francis’s “Recovery. The Lost Art of Convalescence”…….

This was my repeated experience both as a GP and as a Specialist at the Glasgow based NHS Centre for Integrative Care. The term “clinical encounter” is a much better one than “consultation” for this kind of experience. I used the term “consultation” a lot throughout my training and as a GP but it became increasingly clear that there was a lot more going on in these “encounters” than the word “consultation” could capture.

On multiple occasions patients told me they’d been able to tell their story for the first time in their lives, that they’d felt well heard and hadn’t been judged. Those encounters frequently led to profound changes in life…..certainly changes for the patients but also for me.

As I witnessed these changes over months and even years I was inspired. Time and again individuals broke through my limits of expectation and time and again I was amazed by and filled with admiration for their ability to recover, for their resilience and for their resurgent vitality.

I learned to expand my expectations. I learned to listen attentively and without judgement. I learned to be fully present. Again and again.

As I think about this passage again, I realise the same principle applies not only in clinical encounters but in every relationship we have.

Every meeting we have, every event we share with others, every conversation and interaction we have changes both of us – me and you. I think that applies when we meet physically but also when we meet “virtually” – through social media, email, or through connected screens.

There is an alchemy in encounter.