Put ya' back into it...

Friday I was in a therapy session with one of my patients. The patient is a precious 19 year old who underwent a left hemispherectomy 5 years ago. She now operates strictly with the right side of her brain. She has a lot of wordfinding difficulty, but does SO well given her circumstances. I see her 3 times a week and she is very near and dear to my heart. As I get to know my patients, I try to allow the atmosphere of therapy to reflect upon the patient's personality. For example, if I am doing therapy with a middle age, prim and proper client, I will be very professional. If I am doing therapy with a 19 year old girl, I will be more relaxed.

We have a very relaxed therapy style. She already puts so much pressure on herself, that I refuse to allow her to feel pressure when she comes to therapy. So Friday we were working on reading, and recognition of letters. She was trying to read a word, and I said, "You can do it." And she said, "OH! OH! Ummm.. you can do it, put your... put your... what is that song? (she's trying to sing here). And, of course, because the song is ghetto, I completely know what she is trying to sing. I forgot for a minute that even though we have a relaxed rapport, I am still the professional. She kept on, "You can do it, umm, ummm- what is that? You can do it..." I could no longer bite my tongue, and my ghettoness overcame my professional nature as I heard myself singing, "You can do it, put ya' back into it." She got really excited, "Yeah!!!! You can do it put your back into it." Me, continuing on with the lyrics, "I can do it just let me do it." At this point we are both singing, she has her lips pursed in a pouting position and is now dancing.

Sometimes I fear that Oprah or Dr. Phil have secret video cameras in my therapy rooms, only to be used in a segment entitled, "Do health care professionals really know what they are doing?"