Professional Habit Reflection
Reflection is a way to step back and think about your past performance to gain perspective on how you communicate. This workspace is designed to help you recognize specific moments where you might fall back on a clinician-led style. By identifying these patterns, you can see where collaborative communication feels most challenging and find ways to build a stronger partnership with your patients during stroke recovery.
How to Use this Tool:
1) FIND A FOCUS
The following questions are designed to help you reflect on the specific types of instructions and cues you provide during a session. Scan the categories below and pick one prompt that resonates with an interaction you had today.
3) EXPLORE THE SHIFT
In your next session, you could try applying that one change, perhaps a different way of cueing or a moment of shared decision-making.
2) CAPTURE THE THOUGHT
Take 30 seconds to jot down a quick insight or goal. Putting it into words helps ensure your plan stays on top of your mind during a busy shift.
4) NOTICE THE RIPPLE EFFECT
Finally, observe how the survivor responds. Seeing a small change in your approach boost their confidence or ownership is the best evidence that your shift to a partnership is working.
Collaborative Role
Focus: Examine your professional mindset and how you balance your expertise with the patient's lived experience.
If the survivor were asked at the end of our session, would they say they felt like a "partner" in their care or a "patient" following a protocol?
Looking back, did I lean on clinician-led instructions simply because they felt more efficient or familiar in the moment?
How did I balance my clinical expertise with the patient’s lived experience today, and in what moments did it feel most difficult to step back from the "expert" role?
Instructional Language
Focus: Notice how the language you use during a session either builds a patient's independence or maintains their dependence on you as the expert.
Can I identify one "body-part" cue I used today (e.g., "Straighten your arm")? How can I rephrase that into a goal-oriented cue for our next session (e.g., "Reach for the handle")?
Did I provide the solution to a movement challenge immediately, or did I give the patient enough space to problem solve the task themselves?
If I were to leave the room right now, would the instructions I gave be clear enough for the patient to practice safely on their own?
Sharing the Lead
Focus: Find moments to step back and let the patient lead the session through their own choices and self-evaluation.
What was one choice, even a small one, that I offered the patient today that I usually would have decided myself?
How did providing options for the timing or location of a task change the patient's level of engagement?
Did I allow the patient to self-evaluate their performance today before I stepped in with my own clinical feedback?
The Commitment to Intentional Practice
Evolution in practice isn't about sweeping changes. It’s about the small, consistent habits that empower survivors beyond the therapy hour. As you finish today's reflection, carry one of these intentions into your next session:
I will commit to sharing control and co-creating goals by beginning my session with an open-ended question about what they want to achieve today. By asking, "What task would make you feel most successful today?" I am choosing to co-create goals rather than prescribing them, ensuring the session is driven by their priorities.
I will commit to focusing on the person first by dedicating the first few minutes of our interaction to a face-to-face connection before turning to the chart, equipment, or technical tasks of the day. By focusing on the survivor first, I am building the trust and partnership needed for them to eventually take the lead in their own care.
I will commit to using goal-oriented cues by replacing instructions focused on body mechanics with cues that focus on the result of the task. This small shift makes it easier for the survivor to understand the movement, allowing their body to organize itself more naturally without overthinking the mechanics.
I will commit to building the survivor's confidence by intentionally highlighting their successes throughout the session. By framing my feedback around what went right, I help the survivor believe in their own capability to practice safely on their own.
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Continue Your Journey
Reflecting on your own habits is the first step. The next is recognizing when a survivor is ready to take the lead. This Candidate Selection Guide provides a practical way to check for a patient's readiness for self-directed training. It helps you decide when it is the right time to transition from directing the session to supporting the survivor as they practice on their own.