Meet Brooke Miller

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Brooke Miller. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Brooke, so excited to have you with us today and we are really interested in hearing your thoughts about how folks can develop their empathy? In our experience, most folks want to be empathic towards others, but in a world where we are often only surrounded by people who are very similar to us, it can sometimes be a challenge to develop empathy for others who might not be as similar to us. Any thoughts or advice?

In my first years out of physical therapy school, I prided myself on being “the tough PT.” I reveled in the little nicknames like “physical terrorist” or “the hammer”. I got people better by being blunt, telling them exactly what they needed to get better and didn’t settle for anything less in our sessions. Most of the time this tactic worked. People love to be pushed and challenged but every once in a while, there would be clients that quit or didn’t come back to see me. I chalked it up to they just weren’t tough or ready to put the work in – it was their problem and not mine.

What i wasn’t aware of at the time was that I was severely lacking empathy. I was unable to meet people where they were at, sit with them in their troubles, be patient with them and see that there is so much more to healing than just pushing through. Empathy for me was gained in a few very specific ways.

First, I discovered empathy by educating myself. Overtime, my practice and career shifted and began to offer more help for clients suffering from pelvic floor conditions. While pain was mainly the thing I addressed in my early years, I found my conversations with clients turned to other issues including bowel and bladder incontinence, sexual dysfunction and issues with intimacy. Issues that are not addressed by just “sucking it up” and pushing through. I was suddenly acutely aware that I wanted and needed clients to feel safe and open to share with me the intimate parts of their lives that were causing them so much grief – and being a pushy and tough therapist wasn’t going to accomplish that. I found more empathy by getting to know more complex problems and seeing how things need to be handled differently.

Secondly, I discovered empathy by going through issues myself. I became pregnant with my first child and through pregnancy and delivery I was left with lots of pain and issues keeping me from getting back to the gym as I had before. I desperately wanted to workout, get back into shape and push myself. But pushing through and just getting it done was almost impossible. Lack of sleep, crying baby, work-life balance, household responsibilities and then pain with movement were all huge barriers keeping me from it. I was able to see for myself first hand that it isn’t just a matter of will power and getting things done but being able to zoom out and make space for all the things in a persons life that weigh on them can be barriers to goals. I found empathy by having an experience of my own – seeing for myself first hand the pain and difficulty that come with rehab.

Lastly, I discovered empathy when it was the thing I needed the most. Being on the other side of healthcare allowed me to first hand be put into situations with providers that did not show empathy. I was made to feel bad about myself, that things were my fault that I was struggling, and they did not have the time or space to sit with me to help me find the answers. Thankfully, I knew better and was able to advocate for myself and find the help I knew i needed. I knew that I never ever wanted to make any client in my office feel the way I felt after that.

Through deeper education, my own life experience and experience with healthcare professionals, my empathy was able to develop. This has changed the way I treat, interact with my clients, my family and my friends.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I am a physical therapist and owner of PeakRx PT & Wellness. We are a pelvic health clinic geared towards helping people overcome leakage, pain and heaviness so they can move well for their lifetimes.

We are changing the game in health care by first providing a whole body approach to care. We look at someones entire body, their home life, their jobs and their fitness to best paint a picture of why they are struggling and most importantly, how can we get them symptom free. Our care is custom to each client to ensure the best and most efficent results.

We also pride ourselves on helping women understand the importance of optimizing their fitness for symptom free and long lives. We provide education and content to help women feel empowered to take care of their bodies and seek out things life lifting weights and fueling appropriately. This helps people to stay out of pain long term!

If you are someone dealing with pelvic floor issues that keeps you from living life to the fullest – come see us!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

patience – PT school is a long process and takes a lot of time and dedication to set yourself up to get accepted. Being patient and hardworking is a must to set yourself up for the best.

people person – you have to be able to interact and motivate people. Whether you are just engaging, encouraging or empathic, you must enjoy people and be ready to learn how to always engage them well.

fitness forward – To do this well, you yourself much understand the value of taking care of your body.

Tell us what your ideal client would be like?

Ideal clients are people looking to take an offensive approach to their wellness. We want people ready to do the real hard work it takes including being coachable, implementing a rehab plan, letting go of things contributing to your issues, fueling well, sleeping appropriately and so on!

Getting out of pain can be simple with things like rest, meds and hands on work. Thats easy. What is hard is staying out of pain and making long term changes to ensure it does come back. We want to work with people willing to play the long game play in addressing their issues but creating habits and routines for a well balanced and fitness forward life!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.peakrxtherapy.com
• Instagram: @peakrx
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peakrxtherapy