Posted on October 13, 2018

Sometimes we just have to do the best we can. We are all flawed, and we all bring our flawed nature into every new relationship. The key however is to keep an open heart, an open mInd, and to commit ourselves to discovering the truth.

And all of this holds true with our patients as well. What they know, what they understand, how they feel, what they want, and how they want us to help them are all moving objects in the beginning. Hence, new relationships are like dances – often starting separated and unemotional, and hopefully evolving into more intimate and emotional communication where the truth is revealed over time. And with it, desires, motivations, roadblocks, and what it all means to them.

“Going slow” with people in the beginning is often the only way to get to that place. And that truth is at the very heart of co-discovery.

Paul A. Henny, DDS

Thought Experiments LLC, © 2018

Posted on October 13, 2018

[et_pb_section][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text]It is useful at times to keep this simple paradox in mind: The reason we are alive is that we are dying all of the time…the cells of our body come and go, yet we remain. And if those cells don’t die off in a normal fashion, they become what we identify as “cancer.” A similar paradox exists on a psychological level as well. We only grow and prosper by letting outdated beliefs and understandings die, and then replace them with something new – hopefully something much more useful or even perhaps much more meaningful. Our patients face the same situation – and often on both levels. Part of their physical self is failing or even dying, and that might be the reason they have passed though our door. But of equal importance is the status of their beliefs about their situation. What is it that they believe about WHY they are in their current condition? If their beliefs are significantly out of sync with the reality of their situation, then they bring with their problem a lot a stress as well… their current beliefs are not serving them well – and they don’t know what to do about it. The great constructivist psychologist Jean Piaget, PhD, called this situation a moment of “disequilibria,” as represented when a person’s beliefs and behaviors are no longer producing their intended or desired outcome. And it is at that moment that the person either learns, grows, and thus reorganizes their beliefs, or they double-down…they deny what is happening, or they deny the realities associated with why this has happened to them. How we choose to work with our patients at this type of moment is key, because often times if we jump in and rescue them too soon, then the opportunity for them to learn and grow from the situation will be lost…the “learning moment” will have come and gone. Granted, there are many situations in dentistry where learning on the part of the patient is not crucial to their long-term health…an old filling breaks…they fall and chip a tooth. But many things in dentistry require their involvement if long-term health is to be achieved and maintained. And that is where Co-discovery fits in. Co-discovery helps patients see their situation in a different light. It allows them to attach new meanings to what they are learning and the long-term implications of their decisions. In many cases, failing to learn and grow leads to neuroticism and dependency. And both yield out frustration and anger over time. We have all experienced it. Paul A. Henny DDS Read more at www.codiscovery.com[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

Posted on October 10, 2018

Our beliefs involve a continuum of thought structures which range from reflective analysis to assumed truths picked up from the culture, misinformed others, or even distorted memories. So whether or not a belief is something seriously considered or not, it was still caused by something…an experience, an observation, an assumption. In other words, they did not appear out of the blue. So, the way beliefs are formed is an important thing for dentists to understand.

The process of reconsidering our beliefs often leads to their modification, or what is sometimes called reconstruction or clarification, and it can happen before or after we have acted on a particular belief.

Often times we act impulsively, or make quick decisions which commit us to later actions, and then, and only with the act or decision behind us -and the outcome of that decision experienced- do we either rationalize the decision, or learn from it.

And that is the moment at which we tend to meet most of our patients. Many of them have been going along with a rather leaderless and vision-less version of dental care, which has then led them to a point of crisis. This point of crisis, either clinical or subclinical, represents a “learning moment” or the opportunity for just another rationalization and maintenance of the status quo.

Co-discovery facilitates patients breaking out of the cycle of rationalizing their declining and failing dental health and condition. It allows them to recalibrate their beliefs, or thought structures, about dentistry, dental health, and what they believe their future can look like.

We all have the tendency to be lazy thinkers. We all want to assume that if we can chew today or if we have no pain today, tomorrow will likely be the same. But as we all know, dental trends can be negative and have a largely subclinical presentation to the untrained eye. And consequently, our patients can easily get to a point of crisis without any awareness.

If we truly have a health-centered practice mission, breaking through this lack of awareness is key – and doing so sooner is always more effective than later.

Honing our Codiscovery skills is therefore essential to the health-centered direction of a practice. And on that topic, Barkley & Kohn most certainly helped lead the way.

Paul A. Henny, DDS

Thought Experiments LLC, ©2018

Read more at www.codiscovery.com

Posted on October 10, 2018

We are all flawed and incomplete, full of unrealized potential, while often stuck or confused about what to do next or even who or what to believe.

The same holds true for our patients. They are incomplete as well. They are often confused, and they often do not know who or what to believe about their situation.

So, how do we work around this basic truth and move toward greater understanding, completeness, and therefore better decisions?

That was a question Bob Barkley and Nate Kohn Jr. labored over for years. And they found the answers in the area of educational psychology, which at the time was being transformed by the work of Carl Rogers PhD.

The central idea that Rogers persistently advanced was that everyone has growth potential, and everyone has deep inside -albeit often suppressed or blocked – the desire to grow and become more, the desire to become more functional and effective, the desire to feel good about themselves, and the desire to be a fully creative and joyful human being. Rogers often referred to this positive process of growth and development as “becoming,” and it was centered around his deep faith in his client’s ability to figure things out and make better choices over time via facilitation.

As dentists, we are generally not taught to think about our role as being facilitative, rather we are taught to be interventionists. We are taught to use our knowledge and skills to tell others what to do, or to rescue. Yet, telling and rescuing tend to block growth if they become the central theme of a relationship – a relationship otherwise known as codependent.

Co-discovery was created by Barkley and Kohn as the genius work-around. It avoided telling, and minimized rescuing. It encouraged reflection, reassessment, values clarification, goal-setting, and problem ownership.

And it works. But only if you believe in the potential of others, and are willing to be a facilitator of ‘becoming.’

Paul A. Henny DDS

Thought Experiments LLC, ©2018

Read more at www.codiscovery.com