The Cheerful Pelvis clinic was born, as is true for many physios who start their own practice, because I couldn’t find a clinic I wanted to work in. I wanted to create the workplace I needed and wasn’t out there for me.

But there was also an ulterior motive.

I had struggled with the physio profession, especially once I had committed to pelvic health, with how under-resourced, skilled and educated we were regarding the relational component of clinical care.

I had plugged this gap myself by going to therapy school, and it completely turned around my personal experience and professional practice. Not only was I more skilled and confident in handling those challenging presentations (which lead to clients getting waaaaaay better than they were before!) but I also felt better in myself as I did it.

I hadn’t realized the impact of constantly trying to do something I didn’t really have the skills for. It was draining AF and contributed to burnout in my work; a chronic battle between feelings of failure that clients weren’t improving, balanced with ambivalence and ‘checking out’ altogether because it was too much.

Once I gained more insight about myself and how I related to people through therapy school, I could be present, and problem solve more consciously. I was much less stressed, much less overwhelmed. I could think more clearly and the clients I dreaded became a joy to treat and started improving. My identity and self worth were no longer tied up in my clients experience, and I could breathe again.

I firmly believed and was committed to bringing this learning to our profession at large. I spoke at local clinics and conferences but I began to realize why a limitation we have known about our profession for so long has seen so little traction in terms of change;

• We keep looking outwards instead of inwards
• We don’t actually know how to teach this content (subjective, critically self reflective interpersonal skills)
• Lots of us don’t know how to learn this type of content, and push back to what’s familiar and less vulnerable (the objective)

So, my secret, secondary vision for The Cheerful Pelvis was for it to be a cooking pot (read cauldron!) for us to work together and help figure out these complex questions.

• How can we integrate personal awareness and growth with our professional learning and skill set?
• How can we learn to orient towards ourselves as well as retain focus on our clients?
• How can we push our edges while staying safe in the interplay between personal boundaries and professional responsibility?
• How can we incorporate tools from somatic psychotherapy practices whilst staying within our scope of practice?
• How can we pick apart and challenge our biases without going down anxiety and shame spirals?

My poor amazing #teamcheerful have been my guinea pigs while I have figured out how to facilitate this deep learning, and they have run the gauntlet. I have learned what not to do, and how not to teach as much as I’ve figured out what works. Thank you team I’m so grateful for you trusting me and sticking with it!!

I have also learned how to apply what we’ve learned to our operations, so our learning and values are demonstrated through the client’s objective experience of the clinic, as well as their relationship with their therapist.

So! Now comes the scary next step. Actually bringing these teachings out into the world!!! Who’s ready?