She did this to help set the group up for the discussion to follow. Some of the things she learned that have an impact on supporting self-care are summarized below. We need to understand human experience in the context of the care people are receiving. Communication between a person and a health care professional is very powerful. The positive and negative effects of health care relationships last a long time.
Consumers can point out the helpful and unhelpful.
This assists us to learn about patterns. The majority of what is unhelpful is entirely unnecessary. There is some entrenched hostility within professional systems towards self-help and support groups. Many of us grew up with the Marcus Welby ideal - put yourself in the hands of the system and it will work out. It is hard for people to go through disturbing and difficult times and come out feeling competent, assertive and capable.