Affective Connection

        When researching Physical Therapy, I found an academic source to verify everything that I observed and the other articles I had found earlier over the life-long bond that can form between young patients and their therapists. In “The physical therapist-patient relationship. Does physical therapists’ occupational stress affect patients’ quality of life?”, eight patient/ therapist pairs are observed to see what effect a Physical Therapist experiencing high levels of stress has on their patients. This article acknowledges the fact that Physical Therapists often have deeper relationships with their patients because “physical therapists treat their patients for an extended period of time” (Citation #1). In this investigation, some of the therapists were given stress by situations such as job structure and climate and then observed to see if their stress affected the quality of life of the patient they were treating. After 62 days, results showed that the therapists who received more stress from work had patients who were more likely to be depressed and psychologically worse. However, Physical Therapists that did not experience stress were more likely to be more involved in their patients care and their patients experienced happier and better quality of life than those with stressed therapists. While this article shows a negative correlation between the therapist and their patient, it suggests that a strong and affective relationship does exist Based on this experiment, it could be concluded that Physical Therapists have a great impact on the lives of their patients and can use that influence to positively affect the patient’s lifestyle. Why not spend your time becoming a Physical Therapist? I find it to be a great experience to have a profound impact on someone’s life rather than my own.