Managing Acute Pain with Rebekah Griffith
Be A Better PT
Join me as I talk with @TheEDDPT about acute pain, connecting with our patients, and addressing pain-related suffering. Dr. Griffith is a PT who specializes in care in the Emergency Department, teaches continuing education courses related to ED PT practice, consults with facilities that want to start ED PT programs, and teaches DPT students about ED PT. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram @TheEDDPT and on her website: If you enjoy this episode, share the love! When you share this episode with your friends, throw me a tag so we can connect! I’m ALWAYS looking for...
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Avoiding Burnout with Sandy Hilton
Be A Better PT
This episode is about something that is relevant to all helping professionals—avoiding burnout. Join me as I talk with Sandy Hilton, a veteran clinician who has been practicing full-time for over 30 years. Join Sandy and me as we talk about how she’s managed to not only avoid burnout, but to stay open, curious, and excited about clinical practice all this time. To join the Be A Better PT Facebook Group, visit: If you enjoy this episode, share the love! When you share this episode with your friends, throw me a tag so we can connect! I’m ALWAYS looking for fellow PTs...
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Playing Within the Constraints with Donald Mull
Be A Better PT
Join me as I chat with my friend Donald Mull about motor learning, behavior change, and patient-centered care. Donald is a Chiropractor who is particularly interested in ending the physical inactivity epidemic. He and I recently met and immediately bonded over our deep passion for helping people boost their self-efficacy. This conversation was a lot of fun, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it! To join the Be A Better PT Facebook Group, visit: If you enjoy this episode, share the love! When you share this episode with your friends, throw me a tag so we can connect! I’m...
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Connecting with our Patients with Terry McGee
Be A Better PT
This episode is about something that is at the very foundation of healthcare—connecting with our patients. Join me as I talk with my friend and mentor, Terry McGee. Terry and I met during my time at Johns Hopkins. He was the director of the orthopedic residency program that I participated in and has been a significant influence on my practice from the beginning. We’ve remained friends and I’m so pleased to have him on the podcast to share his wisdom and compassionate approach to care with the world. To join the Be A Better PT Facebook Group, visit: If you enjoy this...
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A Journey of Pain & Yoga with Scott White, Part II
Be A Better PT
Join Scott White and me in part II of our expansive conversation, where Scott talks about how he integrates what he learned through his own journey with pain into his physiotherapy practice, as well as how the principles of yoga inform his practice. If you haven’t given part I a listen, I highly recommend doing so, as it gives a rich context to Scott’s approach and why he is so passionate about integrating the principles of yoga into his physiotherapy practice. If you’re interested in learning more about Scott, you can find him on Twitter @ScottInnerFocus or via his...
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A Journey of Pain & Yoga with Scott White, Part I
Be A Better PT
In this 2-part episode, I chat with Scott White, founder & director of Inner Focus Physiotherapy in Perth, Australia, a clinic that is centered around an active approach to care, employing many principles of yoga practice in their approach. In part I, Scott tells the story of his multi-year journey with persistent pain and over-medicalization, and how he found his way out through yoga. If you’re interested in learning more about Scott, you can find him on Twitter @ScottInnerFocus or via his website: Click to check out the book that got Scott on his path to wellness:...
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Finding Safety with Renee Ostertag
Be A Better PT
Join me on this week’s episode where I talk with Renee Ostertag, a PT-Psychologist who specializes in nervous system regulation. In this fun & explorative episode, Renee and I discuss safety & threat, awareness, transference & countertransference, dependency, and of course, helping people find safety within themselves. If you’re interested in learning more about Renee, you can find her on , or via her websites: and To join the Be A Better PT Facebook Group, visit: If you enjoy this episode, share the love! When you share this episode with your friends, throw me a tag so we...
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Finding Fulfillment with Tom Jesson
Be A Better PT
This episode is about something that’s extremely important for all of us— finding fulfillment in our careers. Join me as I chat with Tom Jesson, a clinician-turned-sciatica-expert who has authentically used social media to carve his own path through this broad field. So far Tom has published a clinican-focused E-book on sciatica and has another one in the works, along with a book on cauda equina syndrome. Listen in as we talk entrepreneurship, finding fulfillment, and making your career your own. If you’re interested in learning more about Tom, you can find him on Twitter @Thomas_Jesson,...
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Pain & Pathoanatomy with Ron Kochevar
Be A Better PT
In this episode, I talk with my friend and former fellowship mentor, Ron Kochevar, who helped me to piece together some key aspects of my practice during our time working together. Join Ron & me as we dive into the intersection of pathoanatomy and pain-informed care, a topic rich with complexity and nuance. If you’re interested in learning more about a mechanisms-based classification of pain, see the 3 articles below: Smart et al., 2012 (1): Smart et al., 2012 (2): Smart et al., 2012 (3): You can learn more about Ron on his websites: or To...
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Enactivism & Pain-Related Suffering with Peter Stilwell, Part II
Be A Better PT
In this two-part episode, I talk with Peter Stilwell, whose work has radically expanded my understanding of pain and other deep concepts like mind-body dualism and the biopsychosocial model. In part II of this two-part episode, Peter and I talk about the topic of Peter’s latest paper— pain-related suffering. This is a topic rich with complexity as well as applicability to anyone working with people in pain. Peter’s approach to pain-related suffering is well-complemented by Enactivism, so if you haven’t listened to part I yet, I’d recommend doing so before or after this episode....
info_outlineDuring residency, I was exposed to the communication style known as Motivational Interviewing. Prior to this, I hadn’t realized that there are ways of talking with people that can help them get unstuck. This was a huge realization for me.
After this course, I fully nerded-out on MI for many years and had the privilege of teaching the MI content to the residents during their didactic modules in a nice full-circle manner before I left Baltimore.
I want to share with you the gift of MI, while also helping you to avoid some of the ways that I’ve misunderstood, misinterpreted, and all-out fucked up when trying to implement MI in the clinic.
In this two-part episode, we’ll talk through the philosophical background of motivational interviewing and behavior change, the mindset behind MI, the 4 core skills of MI, and the 4 MI processes. Along the way, I provide exercises to help you integrate and implement this information into the clinic (see below for a full list).
You can find the episode in blog form at www.AndrewHammondPT.com/post/motivational-interviewing
You can find the intention-setting infographic at www.AndrewHammondPT.com/post/clinical-reasoning
If you enjoy this episode, share the love! When you share this episode with your friends, throw me a tag so we can connect! I’m ALWAYS looking for fellow PTs to nerd out with. You can connect with me via:
My Website: www.AndrewHammondPT.com
Instagram: www.Instagram.com/AndrewHammondPT
Twitter: www.Twitter.com/AndrewHammondPT
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/AndrewHammondPT
If you’re interested in bringing your practice to the level that you know it can reach, check out my Physical Therapy Mentorship program at www.AndrewHammondPT.com/PT-Mentoring
EXERCISES:
Exercise 1: The Spirit of MI
Think of someone right now who you find difficult to work with. Someone who you get a pit in your stomach when you see them on your schedule (we all have people like this).
Now ask yourself:
“How is my partnership with this person? Am I collaborating with this person as an equal?”
“How is my acceptance of this person? Am I honoring and respecting their freedom to make their own decisions?”
“How compassionate am I with this person? Am I giving priority to their needs during our time together?”
& finally, “Do I believe that this person has within them already what they need to succeed?”
Exercise 2: Open-Ended Questions
Start to pay attention to how many open-ended vs. closed-ended questions you ask.
Notice the difference in the other person’s response when you ask an open vs. a closed-ended question.
Exercise 3: Affirmations
Give each patient you work with the next time you’re in clinic one affirmation.
Make sure it’s genuine and starts with “You,” not “I.”
Notice how the person responds.