My Approach To Care:
The Triangle Of Care Model
Proper care for the treatment of vaginismus is three-fold. When three disciplines collectively partner: medicine, mental health, and physical therapy, patients see results faster.
Effective treatment of vaginismus involves coordinated care by three professionals: A mental health provider, a physician, and a physical therapist.
The biopsychosocial model (BPS) considers a person's body, mind, and community within a disease treatment modality when creating a treatment plan (Berzoff & Drisko, 2015).
Building off the foundation of the biopsychosocial model, the Triangle of Care model utilizes three professionals to care for the patient utilizing the mental health professional at the key organizer of care.
This is an infographic that is titled, “Bio-psycho-social” This is a grey background with 3 overlapping circles. Each circle is labeled. The top circle is in pink and reads Biology, the bottom left circle is in the color blue and reads psychology, and the circle on the right is in yellow and reads social. On the bottom left side is the website logo, which is a pink triangle that reads Triangle of Care. On each side of the triangle, there is writing. The left side reads professional, the right side reads, progressive, and the bottom reads personal. There is an arrow leading from this diagram to the pointing right to the next diagram.
IThis is an infographic titled Triangle of care. This is a grey background with 3 overlapping circles. Each circle is labeled. The top circle is in the color blue and reads mental health, the bottom left circle is in pink and reads medicine, and the circle on the right is in yellow and reads PT. On the bottom left side is the website logo which is a pink triangle that reads Triangle of Care. On each side of the triangle, there is writing. The left side reads professional, the right side reads, progressive, and the bottom reads personal. There is an arrow leading from the first diagram to the left to this one pointing right
When the right providers are coordinated, effective treatment takes less time to see results
A referral to one provider is not enough.
When patients are expected to only rely on one medical professional for their treatment of vaginismus,
they often feel like they get the runaround.
Advocating for your care is the starting point.
Good care requires 3 different interventions happening collaboratively to provide comprehensive care.
Let's see how the care is managed and supported at different entry points to demonstrate the effectiveness of patient care.
Over 50% of vaginismus patients approach their gynecologist first, followed by their primary care physician. Making this the most common first access to care.
(Anğın et al., 2020; Lahaie et al., 2010; Macey et al., 2015; Reissing, 2012)
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This is an infographic titled Triangle of Care. The background is a pale pink. The second sentence reads, Scenario 1- Patient sees OB/GYN first. There are three arrows in a circular pattern. On the left, the pink arrow reads OB/GYN. The writing, in red to the left of that arrow reads Entry point, sees an OB/GYN because of pain during penetration. The bottom arrow, in blue, reads, mental health. Writing next to the arrow states, 1st referral sees a therapist to assist with the emotional aspect of the pain. The yellow arrow to the top right reads PT. The writing to the right of the arrow reads, 2nd referral. Refers the patient to a PT to assist with pelvic floor evaluation and treatment
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When a patient treatment protocol is streamlined across three different professions, the referral process is seamless and uniform, so everyone is given the same quality of care and support.
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These three patient scenarios demonstrate that the referral professionals are the same regardless of where the patient started.
This supports the assertion that the multifaceted approach should be the standard of care.
This is an infographic titled Triangle of Care. The background is a pale blue. The second sentence reads, Scenario 2- Patient sees the mental health therapist first. There are three arrows in a circular pattern. The bottom arrow, in blue, reads, mental health with writing next to it reading, The entry point, written in red, says sees a mental health therapist because of concern about pain during sex. The yellow arrow to the top right reads PT. The writing next to the arrow states, Ist referral. Refers the patient to a PT to assist with pelvic floor evaluation and treatment
On the left, the pink arrow reads OB/GYN The writing to the right of the arrow reads, 2nd referral OB/GYN writes a prescription for PT services.
This is an infographic titled Triangle of Care. The background is a pale yellow. The second sentence reads, Scenario 3- Patient sees the PT first. There are three arrows in a circular pattern. The yellow arrow to the top right reads PT. The writing to the right of the arrow reads, The entry point, written in red, sees a PT because of concern about pain during sex. The arrow to the top left is pink and reads OB/GYN. The writing to the left of the arrow reads, 1st referral OB/GYN writes a prescription for PT services. The bottom arrow, in blue, reads, mental health, with writing next to it reading, 2nd referral, Sees a therapist to assist with the emotional aspects of the pain