The One Page Profile: A Person-Centered Thinking Tool

A one-page profile/description is a Person-Centered Thinking (PCT) tool used to provide succint yet very useful informatin about someone. It can be used for many purposes such as helping a child transition to a new class or while hiring a new caregiver or service provider. You can even use it in your organization to boost collaboration between staff members. I use it in my counseling sessions to help me know my clients better and to help them start digging deeper into who they are as a person.

Below is a copy of my trainer's profile that I use to introdude myself to other trainers and trainees. I'm also including more information about one-page profiles provided by The Learning Community for person-centered practices, including links to  a video and useful templates. 

Where have they come from?
 Laura had the first one-page profile in 2005 in the UK. She was 7 years old, and had moved into a new class, and her teacher was finding it difficult to get to know her. Her family did a shortened version of an Essential Lifestyle Plan on one page, because they did not think that the teacher would have time to read anything longer.
 
What are they?
One-page profiles are one page of person-centered information around three headings – an appreciation (for example – great things about me); what is important to me and how to support me (what you need to know or do to support me).
As we said at the beginning there are many ways to share person-centered information on a page, but if you want to call it a ‘one-page profile’ it will have these three headings and will not include:

• Names and addresses of people
• General information or introduction to the person
• A list of likes and dislikes

 
What is the purpose of a one-page profile? How are they used?
 A one-page profile can be used in three main ways:

1. To share information about someone, for example in new situations or meeting new people, or at the front of the person’s records
2. As the beginning of a more detailed person-centered description
3. As the basis for action – going from a one-page profile to then ask what is working and not working from different perspectives and acting on this

 We have examples of them being used with children as young as three months; with people at the end of their life. They are equally powerful with staff, and several organisations now expect staff to have one-page profiles.
   
What is core, and where you can use your judgment?
 The three headings are core expectations of one-page profiles. You can call the Appreciation section whatever makes sense to the person (for example, like and admire, great things about me). The Board decided that using a heading about ‘introduction’ does not sufficiently convey appreciation.
 
You can add a further heading if that is useful in achieving the purpose of the one-page profile, if it is one of the headings that are used within Essential Lifestyle Planning, and person-centered planning for example:

• Hopes for the future
• How I communicate with you
• Characteristics of people who best support me
• My story/history

 You can have one or many one-page profiles for different situations, depending on the purpose of the one-page profile.
People have got very creative in how one-page profiles are presented. This is down to your creativity and judgement based on what works for the person (as long as it does not compromise the readability of the profile)
 
 More information:
Templates: Think and Plan.com -  http://www.thinkandplan.com/  
Using them with teams and in organisations: ‘Using person-centered practices with team and organisations by Helen Sanderson, Mary Beth Lepkowsky with Michelle Livesley and Ruth Gorman. http://www.helensandersonassociates.co.uk/media/72399/usingpersoncentredapproacheswithinorganisationsandteams-2.pdf
 
Video: One page profiles- personalisation http://youtu.be/fnaKnVWFh44