But in order to practice Functionally for real, you need to know what Functional means.
So\u2026
What\u2019s Functional and what\u2019s NOT? (Part 3!)<\/p>\n
Part 3: What\u2019s Functional and What\u2019s NOT<\/h2>\n
There are 3 tenets of a Functional practice, and unless the programs you\u2019re taking, processes you\u2019re using, and people you\u2019re following are using these 3 tenets, they just aren\u2019t Functional.<\/em><\/p>\n Functional Tenet #1: Root Cause Resolution<\/strong><\/p>\n Practicing Functionally means that we\u2019re not chasing symptoms. (Read Part 1<\/a>)<\/p>\n Functional Tenet #2: Systems and Tools<\/strong><\/p>\n In order to practice tenet #1\u2014to not just believe<\/em> in the powers of root cause resolution, but to truly practice<\/em> it\u2014we need to let go of seductive formulas and templates in favor of solid systems and tools. (Read Part 2<\/a>)<\/p>\n Functional Tenet #3: Therapeutic Partnerships<\/strong><\/p>\n In order to practice tenets #1 and #2\u2014to use proven systems and tools to get to the root causes of your clients\u2019 symptoms\u2014you must do something else FIRST. Because your client isn\u2019t going to tell you all the juicy details you need to fill out the Functional Nutrition Matrix<\/a> unless she trusts you (and trusts that you can do something with the details she shares). She probably won\u2019t follow many (or any!) of your recommendations unless she feels like you get<\/em> her, understand what she<\/em> wants, and are helping her to connect the dots and make clinical associations\u2014associations like, when I stay up after 10pm working on my computer, I have increased sugar cravings the next day, or when I eat this breakfast vs. that one, I\u2019m better able to concentrate at work throughout the morning.<\/p>\n The associations between nutrition, diet, and lifestyle modification are infinite when you\u2019re not stuck in the weeds and you\u2019re able to understand the biological reasons for those correlations. And the therapeutic partnership requires being able to not just make those interconnections, but explain them to each patient in a way that resonates and yields action. Again, I know this step seems obvious. Yet you\u2019d be surprised how many practitioners are missing it. And you may be shocked that you\u2019re one of them!<\/strong><\/p>\n (Tip: The way you can catch yourself missing this step is if you find yourself researching a client\u2019s symptoms or diagnosis, or creating a therapeutic plan with stages for intervention before<\/em> you even meet her!) If we go back to our example of the two women with IBS from the previous posts\u2026 You may want to see them both have 2 solid bowel movements each day as an indicator that your recommendations are yielding results. Yet one woman is motivated by avoiding embarrassment of public accidents. The other wants desperately to be free of pain so she can play with her grandchildren and not spend the time doubled over. (These are their Inspiring Factors, and they\u2019re your key to client compliance!<\/strong>) Creating identical treatment plans for both women, and stressing that they need to do the work so that they can have the outcome you want<\/em>\u2014decreased inflammatory markers, diminished pain, different elimination patterns.<\/p>\n Remembering that your clients are people<\/em> with stories<\/em>, and recognizing that each individual has specific hopes and dreams that she is longing to fulfill and that her illness is keeping her from. Once you connect to your client as a real person with real hopes, dreams, pains, and desires\u2026 THEN you can bring out your Functional Nutrition Matrix and map her story, her symptoms, and your recommendations for moving her towards wellness. Just imagine what this Functional Nutrition Matrix<\/a> will look like when it contains all that information for the next person you\u2019re ready to help.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not #FunctionalNutrition unless you\u2019re creating a #TherapeuticPartnership that recognizes the entirety of the person seeking your help.<\/span>CLICK TO TWEET<\/small><\/a><\/p>\n And if you missed Part 1 or 2:<\/p>\n Remember, if the programs you\u2019re taking, processes you\u2019re using, and people you\u2019re following are not<\/em> using these 3 tenets, they just aren\u2019t Functional.<\/em>
Before you bring out your tracking tools and Functional Nutrition Matrix, you need to establish a relationship<\/em> with your client or patient that is going to allow you to see the connections between symptoms, find the roots, and work together in harmony toward resolution. You need to have rapport, and to practice Functional Empathy.
No tool in the world is going to give you the results you want unless you\u2019ve first created a therapeutic partnership with the individual seeking your help. And hold on, I\u2019m guessing this is something you think of as an \u201cof course\u201d, or \u201cyeah, I got that\u201d. Yet a therapeutic partnership isn\u2019t just about connection. It\u2019s about trust, hope, and the patient knowing that she\u2019s no longer in the weeds alone.<\/p>\nWhy is the therapeutic partnership so important?<\/em><\/h3>\n
And she\u2019s not going to fill out a Food\/Mood\/Poop Journal unless she sees the real benefits of taking the effort and knows you\u2019re on her side. (Looking in the toilet and describing what\u2019s in the bowl without understanding why?<\/em> Not likely!)<\/p>\n
So before<\/em> you pull out your systems and tools to start hunting for the root causes\u2026
You must<\/em> create a therapeutic partnership.<\/p>\n
Once you make this connection and gain an understanding of the factors that will inspire them to make change, you can then use the Functional Tools<\/a> to deepen your therapeutic partnership<\/strong> and map the details that you uncover together.<\/p>\n
<\/strong><\/p>\nWhat\u2019s NOT Functional\u2026<\/strong><\/h3>\n
What IS Functional\u2026<\/strong><\/h3>\n
You see, it\u2019s not just her illness that\u2019s the problem. It\u2019s what it prevents her from doing.<\/p>\n![\"Functional](\"http:\/\/www.fxnutrition.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/theMatrix.gif\")
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We can change that.<\/p>\n