To paraphrase the African proverb "It takes a whole village to raise a child," in health care "It takes a whole team to help patients reach their potential."

We're part of teams our entire lives, from our first, often clumsy, efforts at sports as toddlers to our professional work as adults. The therapy team includes physical therapists (PTs), occupational therapists (OTs), and speech-language pathologists (SLPs). Members of each discipline bring a unique perspective to patient care, creating a synergy that often leads to better outcomes.

We are recognizing the importance of that synergy with a new title for this publication-Therapy Insider. Within its pages, we'll bring you information you can use in your practice and delve into common issues all therapists face.

The first common issue we explore is cultural competence, an essential skill for therapists. Our country's population is increasingly diverse, and the article on page 6 provides tips on how you can be more effective with patients of different cultures and provides resources for further information.

This article ties into our first article for SLPs, which is on how to improve your assessment of bilingual clients with communication disorders (page 10). The author provides a four-step process to apply in practice.

This issue also includes an article on pain management for patients who've had total joint replacement surgery.

Therapy Insider is a comprehensive journal for all therapists, and we'd like to bring our readers articles about how therapists are working together. If you have an idea for a story or are interested in writing, contact me at [email protected].

Sometimes we're so busy we don't take the time to thank our team members. We hope you'll take a few minutes to acknowledge the stellar efforts of your fellow members on the therapy team.

Cynthia A. Laufenberg, Senior Editor

Therapy Insider