Photo BY JAMIE FORSYTHE
CARING FOR OTHERS. (Left to right) Owners of Alliant Continuum Care Tim Sobie and Rhonda Haeffele offer a wide range of care for clients including naturopathy, acupuncture, nutrition counseling and biofeedback.
A new kind of health center opened earlier this year in Stadium District: Alliant Continuum Care, which combines art, science and nature when treating its clients.
Clinical Director Tim Sobie had a previous practice, Old Town Physical Therapy, but wanted to broaden his scope of work, and thus Alliant Continuum Care was born.
Sobie spent months renovating the building, creating the opposite of a white-coat clinic office. â??We wanted to create an atmosphere where a person is comfortable walking in the door,â?? he said. â??We think we have a nice mix between professional credibility and a calming atmosphere that is energizing at the same time.â??
Alliant Continuum Care has naturopathy, acupuncture, nutrition counseling, biofeedback, SOMA Method, and Rubenfeld Synergy onsite.
Sobie, a Tacoma resident, is a physical therapist and Feldenkrais practitioner who has a masterâ??s degree in behavioral medicine; he is also working on a doctorate in clinical psycho-physiology, which he described as â??mind-body medicine,â?? from the University of Natural Medicine in New Mexico.
He said the Feldenkrais Method might be new to some. The method, he explained, focuses on the relationship between movement and thought, and how increased mental awareness and creativity accompany physical improvements. â??What Feldenkrais Method is to physical therapy is what naturopathic medicine is to conventional medicine,â?? he continued. â??Itâ??s looking at how the whole person compensates to their condition in ways that might not be addressed through conventional protocols, procedures and routines.â??
Sobie explained traditional physicians might put the patientâ??s condition in the background and the treatment in the foreground. â??What we do here first and foremost is to begin to really notice and see exactly what the clientâ??s unique compensations are ...their individual patterns and underlying postural tendencies ...and then we develop inventive ways to address their conditions in manners that otherwise wouldnâ??t happen,â?? he said.
The Feldenkrais Method is gaining momentum, according to Sobie, who noted there were around 1,000 practitioners worldwide in 1996 and 8,000 now. He said the method, formulated by Russian-born genius thinker Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, encourages individuals to have more of a connection with their bodies and listen to their inner voice. Â
â??Each Feldenkrais session is an experiment in itself,â?? Sobie declared. â??You have variables in front of you and you assess various components of that system to see what works, either in a group class â??Awareness Through Movementâ?? session or as with individually tailored â??Functional Integrationâ?? sessions on the mat table. What comes out of it is a well-crafted experience that re-examines initial impressions and leads to improved function, symptom reduction and greater ease.â??
He emphasized that at the clinic, they are â??not just asking the mechanical question â??whatâ??s broken, letâ??s fix it,â?? but rather looking at the larger sustaining question in asking â??whatâ??s happening throughout the entire arrangement of this person and can we improve upon their underlying neurological organization in a manner that better serves them?â??
â??Itâ??s making whatâ??s unconscious, more conscious so it can be brought under observation and change,â?? Sobie continued, adding itâ??s about improving the patientsâ?? overall quality of life.
He noted he can see underlying conditions that may get overlooked by conventional physicians. â??Weâ??re able to see things through our observational training in Feldenkrais that are otherwise not seen,â?? he remarked.
Modern medicine tries to reduce the number of variables taken into account, according to Sobie. However, at his practice, he said, they try to include all the variables and give them equal weight.
In the future, Sobie wants the clinic to produce audio recordings of its classes and workshops, and also recommend CDs and books every month. Â
In addition to Alliant Continuum Care, Sobie has branch practices in Vashon Island and Olympia.
For more information, visit http://www.alliantcare.com or call (253) 572-4611.
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