Example #1:
A client reports: “I have a sore throat. What can I do about it?”
A diagnostic response would be: “Your sore throat is probably strep because that is what has been going around”. The practitioner is diagnosing what is wrong, by telling the client why she/he has a sore throat.
A prescriptive response would be: “Take vitamin C three times a day for a week, and drink slippery elm tea to soothe your throat and you will feel better”.
An educational response would be: “When I feel like that, I take extra vitamin C, and drink tea made from slippery elm bark. If you look up and read material on these two substances you can learn about their relationship to building the immune system and how the bark of the slippery elm has been used to soothe mucous membranes throughout the body and ease the soreness of my throat. I find that it also tastes good”.
Example #2:
A client reports: “My knee is really bothering me. It hurts every once in a while, ever since a high school football injury. Lately, it just hurts all the time. I’m tired of taking these painkillers constantly, I’m sure it can’t be good for me. What else can I do?”
A diagnostic response would be: “You probably have arthritis in your knee”. Or, “Arthritis usually starts several years after an injury”.
A prescriptive response would be: “Try taking Glucosamine three times a day, to decrease the swelling in your knee, and the pain will subside”.
An educational response would be: “Some of my other clients have told me that some dietary supplements are reported to reduce the swelling and decrease the pain in their joints. You might want to read up on the effects of adding Glucosamine to a daily routine”.
Using educational language verbally throughout your session, and using only educational and “client” language throughout all of your written forms, notes, and materials in your record-keeping is important both legally and ethically. It is not illegal to inform and educate about wellness and health, yet the interpretation of how the information is conveyed can make the difference between being viewed by some as “practicing medicine without a license” or not. Educating and empowering the client is the ultimate goal of the practitioner. Practicing with high professional integrity and competency is imperative.
| INCORRECT TERM | CORRECT TERM | COMMENTS |
| Cure | Re-educate and Relax | Cure: to correct, heal, mend, regenerate, rehabilitate, relieve, remediate, repair, restore, treat or otherwise help a person recover from any medical or psychological condition. It is illegal for any unlicensed professional to cure or treat any condition, disease, or disorder. It is illegal for any unlicensed professional to cure a medical or psychological condition, disease or disorder. Re-Educate: to educate again, as for new purposes; to re-develop or re-train. Relax: to make less tense, rigid, or firm, make lax; to relax the muscles; to release or bring relief from the effects of nervousness and tension, and anxiety; to become less intense. |
| Diagnose | Relaxation training programs manage the stress related to the reactivity of a tri-vector signature. | Diagnose: to analyze, appraise, assay, assess, calculate, evaluate, estimate, examine, experiment, gauge, guess, investigate, judge, probe, rank, rate or reckon any medical or psychological condition, disease or disorder. It is illegal for any unlicensed professional to diagnose a medical or psychological condition, disease or disorder. Relax: to make less tense, rigid, or firm, make lax; to relax the muscles; to release or bring relief from the effects of nervousness and tension, and anxiety; to become less intense. Biofeedback is a practice that enables an individual to learn how to relax and change some physiological activities for the purpose of improving health. |
| INCORRECT TERM | CORRECT TERM | COMMENTS |
| Diseased | Stress | Disease: a disordered or incorrectly functioning organ, part, structure, or system of the body resulting from the effect of genetic or developmental errors, infection, poisons, nutritional deficiency or imbalance, toxicity, or unfavorable environmental factors; illness; sickness; ailment. Only licensed healthcare professionals can treat a disease. Stress: a biological reaction to physical, emotional, mental, psychological, or spiritual stimuli, whereby normal functioning is compromised. |
| Patient | Client | Patient: the term “Patient” is applied to clients under the care of a licensed healthcare professional. Certified Biofeedback Technicians and Specialists use the term “Client”. Client: a customer; a person that engages the professional services of another. |
| Prescribe | Educate and Coach | Prescribe: to advise, apply therapies, coerce, counsel, manipulate, promote, recommend, require, suggest, or otherwise treat a client. Educate: to train by formal instruction and supervised practice; to provide information. Coach: one who instructs trains. As Certified Biofeedback Technicians and Specialists, we educate and coach the clients to increase their awareness. |
| INCORRECT TERM | CORRECT TERM | COMMENTS |
| Test | Electro Dermal Response Stress Reaction | Test: a particular process or method for trying and assessing; to examine or evaluate. Electro Dermal Response (EDR): a technique by which sensors monitor the skin’s electrical resistance. Biofeedback devices measure the voltage, current, and resistance of the skin. Certified Biofeedback Technicians and Specialists are trained to use biofeedback equipment to measure the Electro Dermal Response stress reactions and to teach their clients how to relax and re-educate their muscles, so they can manage their stress and pain. |
| Therapies | Training Programs | Therapies: the treatment of disease or disorders, as by some remedial, rehabilitating, or curative process; a curative power or quality. Training Programs: for the purpose of correct verbiage, we will refer to the biofeedback programs as training programs Trained practitioners can teach clients how to relax, and re-educate their muscles in order to manage their stress and pain. |
| Therapist | Certified Biofeedback Technician or Specialist | Therapist: one who specializes in the provision of a particular therapy; one specializing in therapy, especially a person trained in methods of treatment. Certified Biofeedback Technician or Specialist: a person trained to use biofeedback equipment to measure the biological activities of their clients, in order to teach their clients how to relax and re-educate their muscles, so they can manage their stress and pain. |
| INCORRECT TERM | CORRECT TERM | COMMENTS |
| Therapy | Relaxation Training | Therapy: the treatment of disease or disorders, as by some remedial, rehabilitating, or curative process; a curative power of quality. Relaxation Training: to help make less tense, rigid, or firm, make lax; to help relax the muscles; to help release or bring relief from the effects of nervousness and tension, and anxiety; to help become less intense. Replace the word therapy, treat, or treatment with Train or Training Program. Biofeedback is the process of helping clients measure and changes their biological activities by relaxing and re-educating their muscles in order to help them manage their stress and pain. |
| Treat | Train | Treat: to deal with a disease or a patient in order to relieve or cure; to care for or deal with medically or surgically. Train: to form by instruction or discipline; to teach so as to make fit, qualified, or proficient; to make prepared (as by exercise) for a skill. Biofeedback training programs use electrical impulses to reduce Electro Dermal Response stress reactions. To treat is to attempt to cure by various means. In most jurisdictions, it is illegal for any unlicensed professionals to treat any medical or psychological condition, disease, or disorder. |