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Micro-training: Foundations — 65% complete
Shared Decision Making
Open Reflection — not started
Understanding What Matters
Practical Tools — 40% complete
✨ Try This Today
"Before your next appointment, take 30 seconds to set aside your agenda. Ask yourself: what might matter most to them today?"
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Companion Areas
Support for different moments in practice. Each area contains structured reflection, micro-learning, practical tools, and Try This prompts.
Person-Centred Conversations
How do I really listen and respond, without rushing to fix things?
Understanding What Matters
What's really important to this person right now?
When There's No Clear Answer
Call out a feature, benefit, or value that can stand on its own.
Shared Decision Making
How do we decide together, not for?
Supporting Confidence & Self-Management
How do I really listen and respond?
Power, Voice, and Choice
Person Centred Conversations
How to Make Every Contact Count
What's really important to this person right now?
When Conversations Feel Charged
Call out a feature, benefit, or value that can stand on its own.
Navigating Systems and Services
What am I learning from this work?
"What do you think the person in that conversation most needed from you in that moment — and how close did you get to meeting that?"
What does person-centred really mean?
Person-centred practice is often described as putting the individual first — but in the day-to-day reality of care coordination, it's more than a phrase. It's a set of habits and dispositions that take practice to develop.
At its heart, person-centred practice means being genuinely curious about what matters to the person in front of you — not just ticking boxes about their condition or circumstances.
Three foundations to come back to
Curiosity before conclusions
Before explaining, advising, or signposting — pause and ask. What does this person already know? What have they already tried? What feels most urgent to them?
Listen for the whole picture
People rarely lead with what matters most. The real concern often emerges in the second half of a conversation, or when you reflect something back.
Hold back the fix
The urge to help by solving is natural. But responding too quickly with a solution can close down a conversation before the person feels heard.
The OARS Framework
OARS is a set of communication skills drawn from motivational interviewing. They work together to create conversations that feel collaborative rather than directive.
Reflective Listening Starters
"So what I'm hearing is…"
Reflecting back what you've understood — not parroting, but checking you've got the essence of it.
"It sounds like this has been going on for a while…"
Acknowledging time and persistence without minimising. Invites the person to say more.
"What would feel most helpful right now?"
Checking in rather than assuming. Keeps the agenda with the person.
The 30-second reset
Before your next appointment, take 30 seconds to set aside your own agenda. Ask yourself: "What might matter most to this person today?" — and notice whether it changes how you open the conversation.
Pause before the plan
When you feel the urge to offer a solution or signpost, wait one more question. "Is there anything else on your mind about this?" can surface what's really going on.
Notice your fixing reflex
At the end of a difficult conversation, ask yourself: did I try to fix before I'd really understood? What would I do differently next time?
People know themselves best. Your role is to help them access and articulate that knowledge, not to add to it.
Silence is not awkward — it's often where the most important things are being worked out. Get comfortable with a pause.
Being heard is, for many people, genuinely rare. The experience of being listened to well can itself be therapeutic.
You don't have to have the answer. "I'm not sure, but let's think about this together" is a valid and powerful response.
Every conversation is different. The frameworks are starting points — your judgement and attunement matter more.
Personalised care is not a technique. It's an orientation — a way of seeing the person first, the problem second.
Reflect on Practice
Use this space to make sense of a conversation or situation from your work. Reflection helps you notice patterns, build confidence, and identify what you'd do differently.
About this reflection
Going deeper
"You mentioned noticing something about the conversation. What do you think that tells you about what the person needed — and how did your response land for them?"
My Journey
Your CPD log, badges, and progress across all Companion Areas.