Chanelle Yoder, creator of the Enchantment Method and author of the EmBODY|BOSS blog, talks with us at CSM about the challenges of opening your own physical therapy practice. “Doing the legwork it takes to open a practice - that’s the easy part,” she says. “The hardest part is constantly getting it through your head that you’re capable, and that you belong there” in the position of running your own practice.”
Yoder points out that there’s a lot of miscommunication to new graduates about what their place in the private practice world is going to be, and says that there’s not enough attention paid in physical therapy school to the realities of being a business owner. But when it comes to opening your own practice, the pay-off can be huge. “I’d much rather be terrified every day of my life but making my own rules than being in an environment where you’re never gonna win,” Yoder says.
Yoder shares the story of her recent diagnosis with an autoimmune disease, and how it helped her appreciate what people with chronic illnesses have to deal with. When it comes to running a practice and seeing patients all day while managing symptoms like joint pain and fatigue, Yoder says there wasn’t much guidance from the medical community, so she decided to share her story.
Over the next month, Yoder will be rolling out an online course called Enchantment Academy to empower health care providers to develop their markets, and to deepen their personal connection with their patients. In her podcast, Healers as Humans, Yoder talks with health care providers who are dealing with their own medical issues, and other obstacles in their personal lives.
“It’s important for patients to see us as experts and as humans,” she says. “People want to see you be vulnerable because it gives them permission to be vulnerable, too. One you do that, it creates this bond that just doesn’t go away.” Yoder encourages other physical therapists to share their stories, and is working on a book geared towards people with autoimmune diseases, combining physical therapy with care management and wellness strategies.
