Shared Decision-Making: Putting the Patient Back in the Driver's Seat - With Walt Fritz

Send us Fan Mail As our profession pushes toward patient-centered care, one thing is becoming clear — the old clinician-as-the-expert model isn't serving our patients the way we think it is. In this episode, Jamie sits down with Walt Fritz — a physical therapist with nearly 40 years of experience and someone who famously walked away from a prominent role in the myofascial release world to publicly question the narratives he'd built his career on. They talk about shared decision-making, informed consent, power sharing in the therapeutic relationship, and why the "soft skills" might actually be the most important skills we have. **In this episode:** - Why the clinician-as-the-expert model is failing our patients - How the language we use (like "releasing fascia") affects informed consent - What shared decision-making actually looks like in a treatment room - The concept of \*metatherapy* — and why how you apply a technique matters more than the technique itself - How to give patients a range of treatment choices including home care, frequency, and movement - Why the "micromanaging patient" is actually your greatest asset - Carl Rogers' 1957 paper and what psychotherapy figured out 70 years ago that manual therapy is still catching up to - Why Walt calls these "human skills," not soft skills Whether you're deep into manual therapy or just starting to question some of the narratives you were taught — this conversation is going to make you think differently about the person on your table. Safety video Walt Referenced can be found by clicking HERE **References:**  Helou, L. (2017). Crafting the dialogue: Meta-therapy in transgender voice and communication training. *Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups*, *2*(10), 83-91. Cerritelli, F., Chiacchiaretta, P., Gambi, F., & Ferretti, A. (2017). Effect of continuous touch on brain functional connectivity is modified by the operator’s tactile attention. *Frontiers in Human Neuroscience*, *11*, 368. Rogers, C. R. (1957). The necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic personality change. *Journal of consulting psychology*, *21*(2), 95. 🎙️ **Enjoying the podcast?** Subscribe so you never miss an episode — and if this conversation helped you, leaving a review helps other massage therapists find the show. If the New Generation Massage Therapist Podcast has been part of your growth as a therapist, consider supporting the show. For as little as $3 a month you help keep this content free and accessible for massage therapists everywhere who are ready to lead. Support the show