October 2019
Hello Friends!
You are receiving this email because we have worked together, in some way, to foster and support human connections in health care. Some of you I’ve worked with around empathic communication such as The Empathy Effect or Motivational Interviewing Workshops, and for many of you, around behavioral health integration and other whole-person care efforts. As I was looking at the list of names for this email, I felt very grateful to be connected to so many amazing people, doing such important work!
My intention for this newsletter is to further connect those of us who are
committed to transforming our health and social systems from systems that are too often transactional, de-humanizing, and unjust, to relational, empathic and equitable systems that enhance our sense of shared humanity. This transformation in health and social services parallels the same struggle in our communities and in our country.
Humanizing systems is social justice work, and if there ever was a time for us to be bold, relentless, strong and effective in our aims, it is now. When I am flagging, when cynicism creeps in, when I start to feel hopeless and sometimes helpless about what I can do, one of the only things that seem to provide more motivation, energy, comfort and the willingness to get busy again doing the best work I can is feeling connected to others who have similar values and aims.
Please continue reading below for some resources I’ve developed to help in this work. I appreciate connecting with you all in this new way.
Bye for now!
Elizabeth
CEO & Principal Consultant
I have a website just for resources that I’ve created, or I found and feel are particularly valuable. You can check it out HERE. Everything on the site is for fun and for free, as they say in AA! One of the resources I love the most is the ‘101’ slide decks. I created these with my frequent collaborator, visual designer and communication specialist Illiya Vjestica, to try and capture the essence of the many strategies we engage in to humanize health care. I envisioned them as tools for us to use within our organizations to increase understanding and emotional connection for engaging in the complex work of systems change.
Download resources for motivational interviewing for practitioners and trainers. Read More »
“When someone really hears you without passing judgment on you, without trying to take responsibility for you, without trying to mould you, it feels damn good!” – Carl Rogers
