Mind Your Language #1

Mind Your Language is the title of a column I wrote for Diabetes Update between 2004 and 2009. Future postings will include the written material from those columns plus a current commentary. Although written for Health Care Professionals the column was written to be short (500 words or less), light and easy-going on the reader who should not require specialist or technical knowledge to engage with them. All the topics covered continue to interest me and I would be very pleased to receive comments and enter discussion.

To begin with I give an overview in the following introduction.

Introduction

I was first recruited to Diabetes UK Careline in 2000 as the organisation became increasingly aware that “psychological” understanding was central to the needs of people with diabetes seeking the medical information offered. Individuals with training and experience in counselling and psychotherapy as their main skill set, like myself, were taken on and then up-skilled in central areas of diabetes information and knowledge.

Taking on detailed medical and scientific information as well as social implications was an arduous process and initially difficult to integrate into a psychologically minded yet down to earth way of engaging with people.

As I began to speak to people with diabetes common themes seemed to emerge that resonated with my psychological inclinations and sometimes seemed at odds with the information from a purely medical or scientific basis. I became convinced that it was not the information or the medical knowledge that was faulty, neither was it the lived experience of people attempting to cope with the condition. It was the language that seemed to generate dissonance between patient and clinician – they were singing from different hymn sheets, as it were.

“Mind Your Language” was I column I wrote for Diabetes UK’s Professional Members magazine Update as a way of encouraging discussion and reflection on Health Care Professionals use of language associated with diabetes. I first broached the idea for topics in 2003 and continued writing the column until the end of 2009.

I was reminded again of the subject of language and diabetes in September 2011 when Diabetes Australia produced a position statement encouraging greater mindfulness of language use (for more information see http://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au/en/Media-Centre/Media-Releases/Diabetes-Australia-Language-Position-Statement/)

I was particularly impressed with the importance Diabetes Australia placed on this and noted with interest that was co-written by Professor Jane Speight who worked with Diabetes UK Careline conducting qualitative research on Health Care Professional training course on communication skills with patients. I also remember a conversation with Dr Speight waiting for a London bound train returning from Diabetes UK Annual Professional Conference 2010 held in Liverpool, that we had both attended. I have always found such chance possibilities for networking fascinating and rewarding although I am also conscious of monitoring peoples’ tolerance for listening to my interests.

I’m also wary of the balance between being too self-effacing and “blowing my own trumpet”, but on this occasion felt entitled to talk about “Mind Your Language”. I was aware Dr Speight would be in receipt of Update but also knew my little column occupied the back page behind an insert, tucked away so to speak.

So I feel quite pleased to have contributed in some small way to what is now an international awareness of the meaning that people may attribute to a certain way of speaking and hearing about diabetes.