Here at The Messina Movement, we’re all about transparency as we support you on your unique journey towards embodied wholeness. As a somatic (body-based) and relational therapy practitioner, a trauma recovery coach, educator, group facilitator, yoga and pilates teacher, and mobility specialist, there’s a lot of expertise I can pull from to support you along your journey. In the health and wellness world, especially as a small business owner, we end up wearing so many hats in addition to our expertise – from HR to PR, social media to scheduling, event planner, accountant, and everything in between.

At this intersection of doing it all, and trying to do it all for your team and clients, scope of practice becomes ever more important, especially as a very thorough Capricorn. To me, scope of practice is about acknowledging the importance of one’s edges as we’re working with, and responsible for, supporting people’s hearts, bodies, souls, and minds. It’s also about knowing where we’re keenly and uniquely equipped with tools and resources to guide people towards deep and lasting transformation in their lives. In order to truly understand, it’s important to recognize the many reasons we as practitioners may extend beyond our means and expertise, as well as why those who come to us for support may encourage us to do so unknowingly.

To dive deeper into this topic, I was invited to speak about scope of practice with my friend and colleague, Morgan Cowie, on her podcast, the ChangeRoom. When asked about scope of practice and scope creep, I shared that first and foremost, in most cases, teachers, mentors, and guides – all want to support people as that’s a huge reason to get into these professions.

Why Practitioners Extend Beyond Their Scope

Most practitioners' intentions on the surface are good, as mentioned in another one of our recent blogs, they want to go above and beyond however, there are various reasons beneath the surface that would be good to check in with. Some of these reasons include; the need to validate one’s expertise and ability, to feel one’s place within the industry, experimenting with new skills, to keep relevant, to feel valuable and worthy, and even to boost one’s ego. It’s also true that it is rare to see explicit scope of practice modules in most training programs - one that covers where your role as a teacher begins and ends. In my experience, the longer I teach and guide people, the less I experience the allure to creep outside of my scope. I’ve become more clear, focused, and grounded in what I can and cannot offer, and those boundaries are what power my work now.

Why Some Students Give Up Their Agency

Beyond well-meaning teachers and guides, students or clients often give up their agency, quickly handing over their health and care to practitioners whom they trust. No one wants to face their healing alone, especially those craving the kind of support and connection that mindful movement classes and healing sessions often provide. We also often want others to solve our problems for us, thinking that might be easier and less effort for us. We all want to feel better, live better, and progress towards our goals, and teachers may be able to see something the student hasn’t yet opened up to, or support them in achieving a breakthrough – this can build trust in our guides and it should, but you feeling that you’re in the driver’s seat of your own wellbeing is important. Being reassured that your journey towards whole-being health, in any form, is coming from you first, that you are walking the path, while supported. Not that your teacher has a secret key to unlock your breakthroughs for you.

The Perfect Storm for Scope Creep

Together this perfect storm, helpers and those seeking to be helped, presents some issues and dangers to beware of, both as a practitioner and as a client or student. We should all be keenly tuned in when diagnosing, giving / receiving manual adjustments, advising, making claims, or assessing, unless we know as practitioners that our credentials are well-suited to support and we have ample experience, or unless we know that our practitioners’ credentials are robust. We all must also be aware of any time that we are tempted or asked to hand over our well-being to someone else, unless of course we have no other choice but to.

How To Prevent Scope Creep as a Leader

Here are some things we are able to do as teachers, guides, and mentors:

Say ‘no’ when we know we need to – have boundaries.
Be humble and honest about your abilities and qualifications, and use the opportunity to refer out as a way to broaden your network, as well as support your clients and students as best as you can.
Invite your students and clients to continuously return to their bodies, their minds, hearts, and souls, and make sure they are empowered to make their own decisions along the way, whether that’s in movement, somatic work, or otherwise.
Trust in your unique scope. Your qualifications are valid, important, and necessary. Just because you cannot support everyone in every way, trust that your unique gifts are valuable and needed for the right people at the right moment along their journey.
When you are unsure, say so! It’s always best to say “I don’t know, let me get back to you,” or “I’d love to consult with colleagues before offering any guidance.” Remember, your students are open and vulnerable to what you have to say - make sure you’re leading and guiding with integrity.
Don’t jump to conclusions - stay curious, and ask questions to get a holistic and thorough view of anything a student / client brings to you, only if you are expertly trained to do so. Be cautious, exploratory, start small, and empower people to trust their own experiences throughout.

How to Support Yourself on Your Journey Towards Embodied Wholeness

Here are some things to keep in mind as a student or client:

Your body, mind, heart, soul - your rules. Your body knows best, you know best, and self-awareness is key. Sometimes, especially when we are seeking healing or support, we lack the connection and awareness to our bodies, or we’ve learned to distrust or override them. Somatic work can reconnect you back to your whole self, relearning the importance of letting your body lead the way.
Do your own research to corroborate! Any time someone is giving you advice or guidance, a quick trip to Google or a second opinion is always a smart idea. No matter how well-intentioned someone is, their support may not be a fit for you at this time.
Your body has the ability to heal with the right inputs. Seeking movements, therapies, and modalities that encourage your body to do the work, as opposed to becoming reliant on something or someone else, will set you up for long-term success.
Magic bullets are tempting, but are likely not the healing and support you’re seeking. Try things on slowly, healing takes time, and notice how something is feeling before diving in head first! It’s also easy to go overboard, trying too many things at once, so it’s impossible to know what’s supportive or not. Take your healing one step at a time, in sustainable doses, what we call titration – small drops over time make a large impact.

Somatic Healing as a Means to Prevent Scope Creep

What we all can do – whether we’re students, clients, teachers, guides, or mentors – is to work on the relationship we have with ourselves. Both the need to take power and give up our power is rooted in the same soil – a lack of confidence, trust, and / or self-worth. By learning and then honoring our needs, limits, abilities, and boundaries, we all are able to meet others, within the authenticity of who we are, more confident and trusting of our embodied wholeness, and that’s really where we all begin to shine and evolve.

Somatic and relational healing, the work I am so passionate about offering, does just that. It’s an art in trusting yourself as a guide, as well as trusting that the client innately knows what they need, knows how to heal, and has what they need within. We as practitioners are holding the space for them to stay with their experience, to continue encouraging them to continue to follow where they lead. It’s incredibly empowering for both the client and the practitioner. It's the kind of attunement that allows for real and sustainable progress, development, trust, and healing.

The Messina Movement’s Scope of Practice

The purpose of The Messina Movement is to inspire people on their unique journey towards embodied wholeness, fostering greater awareness, deeper understanding, and an expanded capacity to navigate life. Our work encompasses multi-faceted, body-centered practices and processes to support your entire well-being, including:

Movement
Meditation
Nervous system regulation
Experiential and exploratory processes
Relational therapy techniques
Somatic trauma healing and recovery

Every aspect of The Messina Movement arms to help people to:

Overcome limitations in their healing process
Reconnect to themselves and/or others
Respond to life’s challenges with greater ease
Build self-worth and confidence
Restore and replenish the body, mind, heart, and soul
Sustain nourishing life practices
Feel resourced in life

The Messina Movement’s offerings are for everyone. As a certified movement instructor and somatic coach, my expertise, experience, and knowledge are commensurate with the transformative life work I am passionate about, and offer.

If you’d like to listen to the whole episode on scope of practice on The ChangeRoom podcast, click here!

With deep love,
Lisa and The Messina Movement Team

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The Importance of a Transparent Scope of Practice