Abstract
This narrative represents the foundation for the PAGES program and shares examples from physical therapy patients, high school students, and people coping with life changes during the recent pandemic. PAGES serves as an acronym for practice patience, accept the present, gather information, encourage, and self-care. The strategies can apply to a variety of settings, and anyone wishing to implement change may use all parts of the acronym collectively or choose useful individual components of the advice.
TopThe Pages Family Coaching Program
Helping patients turn new pages and write new chapters in their healing journeys
To help your loved one who is a patient:
Practice patience: Healing is a journey. No one can wave a magic wand and provide an immediate cure. Celebrate progress, no matter how small.
Accept the present: Feelings of guilt, anger, and frustration are normal, but are not helpful when coaching. No matter what happened in the past, this is where you are now. Worrying about the future only causes additional stress. Try your best to remain in the present moment. Consider writing in a journal to sort through your feelings.
Gather information: The medical professionals such as doctors, physical therapists, occupational therapists, nurses, and speech therapists are here to help you. Ask questions, and listen to their instructions. Consider bringing a notebook with you to write down information so you don’t have to remember it.
Encourage: During the healing journey, patients need cheerleaders. You are a source of hope and light during this process and a little support can make a large difference.
Self-Care: In order to take care of your loved one, take care of yourself too. You can better help someone else when your own needs, such as hunger and sleep, are met too.
TopPages Curriculum
In 2015, I completed a health coaching internship at a hospital, where I served as a member of the inpatient physical therapy team and helped patients with the emotional side of healing. When we both worked at the hospital, Eric and I designed a family coaching program called PAGES. Due to the changing needs of programs at the hospital, the program never reached the implementation stage. In a serendipitous moment, I joined the advisory committee at the high school where I teach with the goal of designing mentoring strategies to enhance the lives of high school students. The PAGES program, which incorporates strategies from a variety of relationship based leadership curricula, can easily adapt to fit the needs of high school students.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Encourage: Reach out to people and connect with them. It is possible for people to become lonely and isolated during the pandemic, and a phone call to check that someone is okay makes a difference.
Gather Information: The medical professionals such as doctors, physical therapists, occupational therapists, nurses, and speech therapists are here to help you. Ask questions, and listen to their instructions. Consider bringing a notebook with you to write down information so you don’t have to remember it.
Self-Care: Make sure to find moments for self-care. Dealing with the constant reminders of wearing masks, social distancing, washing hands, and cleaning can be exhausting, so find time for healthy moments of comfort.
Gather Information: Ask open ended questions, and listen to student answers. As an advisor, use reflective statements to acknowledge student feelings . If students need additional assistance, refer them to the appropriate resource such as college counseling or the school psychologist.
Practice Patience: As high school students continue their journeys through life, they need supportive adults as role models. Often, the most significant goals cannot happen overnight. Empower students by celebrating progress, no matter how small. Students have numerous people giving them advice, so active listening proves valuable in a role as advisor.
Accept the Present: Try to remain in the present moment. It becomes easy for both teachers and students to think of the myriad of tasks to accomplish in a day, but advisory time provides a break for students from past mistakes and future worries. Journal writing also helps students sort through their feelings.
Self-Care: In order to take care of your students, take care of yourself too. You can better help someone else when your own needs, such as hunger and sleep, are met.
Practice Patience: Healing is a journey. No one can wave a magic wand and provide an immediate cure. Celebrate progress, no matter how small.
Encourage: During the high school journey, students need support. As an advisor, you provide a source of hope, which makes a difference.
Self-Care: In order to take care of your loved one, take care of yourself too. You can better help someone else when your own needs, such as hunger and sleep, are met too.
Accept the Present: We are where we are. Whatever each individual circumstance may be, accept what is beyond control and what can be controlled. Focus on things that can be controlled, such as mindset and perspective.
Accept the Present: Feelings of guilt, anger, and frustration are normal, but are not helpful when coaching. No matter what happened in the past, this is where you are now. Worrying about the future only causes additional stress. Try your best to remain in the present moment. Consider writing in a journal to sort through your feelings.
Practice Patience: Even during feelings of pandemic fatigue, know that this era in time won’t last forever. It will take time for places to open, people to receive vaccines, and for the virus to be controlled.
Encourage: During the healing journey, patients need cheerleaders. You are a source of hope and light during this process and a little support can make a large difference.
Gather Information: Numerous news resources exist for information. Find a reputable source and learn from it. Take periodic breaks from the news to avoid information overload, or search for stories of people helping others.