The Functionize Difference: Our approach to solving your problem and creating habits for success
When you walk into our office, you will see artwork on our walls. One piece in particular (pictured below) is a canvas wrapped print that outlines what makes our clinic special. Titled “The Functionize Difference”, this wall art depicts the journey that our clients embark on when beginning physical therapy with us. It’s our five-step proven process that each member of our team guarantees will help you achieve your goals. We describe it as a mountain that you will climb. However, before diving into each step, let’s explain why this is important to us and to our clients.
Our team believes you can become a force of movement through proactive prevention, a personalized care plan, and holistic approach to health. To accomplish this, we are all about treating you as a whole person as opposed to a sum of symptoms.
Our current medical environment is quick to diagnose before turning to a temporary band-aid answer for the symptom - pills, shots, or surgery. At Functionize, we aim to get beyond the symptoms to address the core cause, which is the true course to healing and health.
The path back to our healthiest self is not through quick fixes, passive approaches, and outdated methods. Rampant in traditional, third-party-pay physical therapy practices, this strategy is stagnant and less effective - you’ll soon find our one-on-one cash-based approach is fantastically different!
DISCOVERY – VISIT 1
“Every great change starts like falling dominoes.” -BJ Thornton
When you line up dominoes, each domino carries a small amount of potential energy. If you line up enough, the potential energy becomes greater. With a simple flick, the chain reaction unleashes surprising power and great things can happen.
This is how we describe our first Discovery visit. During this visit we get to know your story, understand your goals, and start to put the pieces together to create a plan and a solution to get you to the top. Knowledge is power and once we establish a partnership, the domino effect towards progress begins.
THE CLIMB – VISIT 2-4
“We are kept from our goals, not by obstacles but by a clear path to a lesser goal.” -Robert Brault
Finding a solution is not clear-cut. Together we must get to the root of the problem. This takes a skilled physical therapist and a team to provide an individualized treatment approach because after all, you are unique. We do not employ cookie cutter techniques to solve your problem. Instead, we take the opportunity to step back and hone in on what is truly causing the problem, then implement a plan to fix it.
However, this plan will not be easy. That is why we call it “the climb.” There will be obstacles and setbacks along the way. Your physical therapist will fine-tune your plan so your path to the top becomes clearer. Along with the education and accountability that your physical therapist provides, each step towards the “peak solution” becomes easier and more attainable than you imagined.
PEAK SOLUTION – VISIT 4-6
“To get through the hardest journey we need take only one step at a time, but we must keep on stepping.” -Chinese Proverb
Hooray! You made it to the top of our journey. This is the Aha moment. We have figured out in a few visits what will help you the most and can apply those things moving forward. You are no longer in pain and have returned to the activities that stopped you weeks/months/years ago. Our physical therapists have given you the tools to be successful and maybe even pushed your daily or sports performance to a new level. We’ve collaborated with your team of health care/fitness providers to ensure your success continues.
Nonetheless, this is where you must stay the course and not fall back! Just because the pain is gone, doesn’t mean the problem is too. Your solution must be optimized and this is where discipline and habit formation is key.
SOLUTION OPTIMIZATION – VISIT 7-8
“It’s one of the most prevalent myths of our culture: self-discipline.” -Leo Babauta
You’re feeling good about yourself – you’re heading down the mountain. You’ve been disciplined in your treatment plan, you’ve achieved peak performance, and you’re still pain-free! But have you made the process a habit?
It is said that success is not a marathon of disciplined action. Success is actually a short race – a sprint fueled by discipline long enough for a habit to kick in and take over. In 2009, researchers at the University College of London found that it takes an average of 66 days to achieve a new habit. Success is sequential, not simultaneous. No one actually has the discipline to acquire more than one new habit at a time.
All this to say that seeing your physical therapist on a regular basis (every other week or every month) will help you stack your habits and achieve your goals. With ongoing coaching and education, the sky’s the limit and we’re ready to take you there. Therefore, as your goals change (i.e., you now decide you are ready to hit a new PR), so will your habits. Your physical therapist is able to make that happen by refining and maintaining your plan.
REFINE & MAINTAIN – VISIT 9-10
“People do not decide their futures, they decide their habits and their habits decide their futures.” -FM Alexander
Phew! You’ve reached the bottom of the mountain. You climbed the mountain, found your peak solution, and formed habits to optimize that solution! You’re moving, feeling, and achieving your best self. Let us be your Oprah Winfrey! We’re here to shout from the rooftops on your success and want to help you keep it going. A regular tune up every other month serves you well in maintaining your peak performance and keeping your habits in check.
As always, your Functionize Team is your cheerleader, coach, accountability partner and friend so you can continue to thrive and enjoy your best years ahead.
Are you ready to move with power and purpose to climb even the highest mountains? Come see us! The team of physical therapists at Functionize Health are ready to help you experience the Functionize Difference today. Contact us at 404.907.4196 or info@functionizehealth.com.
[Note: The quotes and some of the ideas/statistics discussed stem from the book, The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan. Click here to learn how adding The One Thing to your routine can create extraordinary results.]
Thanks for reading!
Lauren Sok PT, MPT
Owner/Founder
Fearless leader and mother of the team, Lauren took the leap to found Functionize in 2015 after nearly 20 years in conventional physical therapy practice with the ultimate goal of creating a new legacy for her family and her colleagues.
Finding energy in helping others and joy in watching them succeed, Lauren embraces childish enthusiasm and overt optimism in the face of entrepreneurship. Despite doubts and challenges, Lauren braved starting a cash-based physical therapy practice at a time when private-pay was a novel concept in the healthcare industry.
Raised in a small, blue-collar town in Pennsylvania, Lauren grew up with her parents constantly encouraging and enjoying an active lifestyle; as a result, she grew up watching them age with grace and agility, which became a prime motivation for her to help others do the same. Lauren came to learn that a proactive approach to health and wellness is the key for living your fullest life. The first in her family to go to college, Lauren laid the foundation for Functionize in hard work and determination.
To create the dream team, Lauren carefully curated a culture comprised of dynamic, invested and innately curious experts in relentless pursuit of providing best-in-class care and a customized approach for each individual patient.
Lauren’s intention is for her clients to feel they have a coach, partner and friend in Functionize. Her goal is to ensure every person who comes into the Functionize fold leaves with the education, support and empowerment to regain control over health and optimize wellness. Ultimately, she is dedicated to disrupting the current approach to healthcare for one that focuses on humans as a whole as opposed to the sum of symptoms.
Today, Lauren lives in Dunwoody with her husband, Kevin, teenage twin boys, Ethan and Austin, and spunky daughter, Sienna. When she is not running between sporting events, networking socials, supper clubs, carpooling, and school volunteering, Lauren enjoys traveling, running, a lazy day on the beach, OrangeTheory Fitness, and exploring the food and events in Atlanta, GA.