Page 2 July 21, 2016 EL SEGUNDO HERALD Tony Robbins electrifies the audience in ‘Tony Robbins: I Am Not Your Guru.’ Courtesy of Netflix. Burkley & Brandlin LLP A T T O R N E Y S A T L A W Living Trusts/Wills, Probate, Employment Law, Personal Injury Trust and Estates Litigation, Business Litigation, Civil Litiga tion 310-540-6000 Lifetime El Segundo Residents *AV Rated (Highest) Martindale - Hubbell / **Certified Specialist Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law, State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization Brian R. Brandlin • Bruce R. Brandlin • Christopher P. Brandlin Community Briefs Adult Sport Leagues The City of Torrance Community Services Department will be accepting team registration for its fall 2016 Adult Softball, Basketball and Roller Hockey programs. Leagues are being offered Sunday through Friday for Co-Ed, Men’s and Women’s teams. Registration begins Aug. 1, and ends Aug. 26. Leagues are scheduled to begin the week of Sept. 11. For more information regarding our Adult Sports Leagues, please contact Garrett Craig at 310-781-7590 or visit www.TorranceCA. Gov/Parks/26427.htm. • Seniors Feel rushed at the doctor’s office? How to get more 1-1 time (BPT) - For patients and physicians alike, the current health care environment has never been more promising, but it’s also frustrating. While there are more medical advancements “While there are more medical advancements and treatment options than ever before, the importance of the doctor-patient relationship has taken a backseat in the health care continuum.” and treatment options than ever before, the importance of the doctor-patient relationship has taken a backseat in the health care continuum. For most people, this means scheduling a visit with a primary care provider can take weeks, and diagnostic testing and specialist appointments can take even longer. Office wait times are on the rise while individuals increasingly receive limited access to their doctor - often 10 minutes or less per visit. This impacts not just the patient experience, but outcomes as well. Many physicians feel that in order to ensure optimal care, creating a stronger doctor-patient relationship is essential. More and more of them are turning to concierge medicine as an alternative. Concierge medicine is a membership-based personalized care program where patients have direct access to their physician, spend a great deal more time with their physician than the health care system traditionally allows for and focuses on prevention and wellness in addition to acute care and disease management. This type of program is a growing phenomenon which has been embraced by thousands of physicians and patients who recognize time is the essence of quality with regard to patient care. Gregg Marella, M.D., of Medham, New Jersey, is one such example. Dr. Marella states, “With concierge medicine, patients get more of my time. I can set aside space specifically for any problems or issues that arise. Health care is more immediate and responsive.” Choosing the concierge model allows Dr. Marella to offer true continuity of care, which has already made a big difference. For instance, a patient came to him reporting symptoms that Dr. Marella thought sounded like a possible brain tumor. When tests confirmed Dr. Marella’s suspicions, he recommended a neurosurgeon. Unlike the typical health care model in which a primary care physician has very limited time to devote to a patient’s direct care, let alone a referral visit, the concierge approach gave Dr. Marella the freedom to attend the neurosurgeon appointment with the patient, which turned out to be quite helpful. “Visiting a specialist doctor like a neurosurgeon can be very challenging and stressful,” he admits. “My presence allowed my patient to listen emotionally to what the neurosurgeon was communicating while I could listen clinically, which in this case allowed me to optimize time frames and provide more streamlined care for my patient.” But this is hardly the only instance where the concierge model has improved care levels. Another one of Dr. Marella’s patients suffers from severe anxiety and fears to leave his family’s home, or even his bedroom. Because Dr. Marella sees fewer patients in the concierge model of care, he’s been able to make house calls to perform bloodwork and other tests his patient requires. The patient’s mother has been very impressed. “I can’t tell you how important Dr. Marella’s home visits are. In that regard it’s been a miracle. I’ve had nothing but great experiences with Dr. Marella and the concierge medicine model of care.” In an age when medical discovery holds more promise than at any time before, too many physicians and patients are missing out on one of the most powerful tools of treatment - a stronger doctor-patient relationship. For that, physicians need time with their patients and patients need access and time with their physicians. Concierge medicine is helping to make both possible. To learn more about how concierge medicine is changing the health care landscape, and how physicians like Dr. Marella are successfully implementing a hybrid or full concierge medicine program into their medical practice, visit www.paragonprivatehealth.com. • Film Review “Tony Robbins: I Am Not Your Guru” Captures Grandeur of Mega Self-Help Event By Ryan Rojas for www.cinemacy.com “Tony Robbins: I Am Not Your Guru,” a new documentary about the larger-than-life motivational speaker and communicator, will be watched by three different types of people: the first, of course, will be Robbins’ ever-devout fans and followers, who most likely will praise the movie for its very existence. The second type of person will be the cynical, critical person, arguably having a pre-loaded bias or thought of Robbins as more huckster than savior. The third type of person, someone who might find themselves more comfortably in the middle, will no doubt get the most out of what this movie has to offer. From Academy Award-winning director Joe Berlinger, the man behind such seminal non-fiction documentaries as the “Paradise Lost” trilogy and “Metallica: Some Kind of Monster” (the latter film, which Robbins approved of in getting this documentary made), trades in his darker, more investigative documentary exposé for something unapologetically hopeful, choosing to show the more uplifting side of Robbins’ work rather than a take-down approach. On that note, those looking for a deeper, more personal, profile of Robbins may be left unsatisfied. Those who are looking for a peek behind the curtains of one of the most famous self-help events, however, will have more than enough footage to take in here. Covering the six-days of Robbins’ famous “Date With Destiny” at a convention center in Boca Raton, Florida (a hop-skip-and-jump away from his ocean side mansion), more than 2,500 people from 71 different countries excitedly await their own personal life-changing transformations. At about $5,000 a ticket for the weeklong event, Anthony “Tony” Robbins, (though he would prefer “life-strategist”) has built his empire on loyalty, charisma, and results. Standing at an immense 6’7” with a gravely voice and fixed gaze (while dropping profanity-laden language to snap people into the present moment), Robbins’ work is the epitome of tough love by calling people out on the things they are choosing not to confront. At one hour and 55 minutes, “I Am Not Your Guru” shows the entire gamut of the seminar. Condensed down from 12 hours a day to a highlight reel of select participants sharing their stories of hardship and traumatic pasts (try not to think anything of the fact that the people who make the cut are mostly attractive women), it is the raw emotion and vulnerability of the crowd that offers real moments of honesty. Horrific scenes of childhood sex slavery, suicidal thoughts, and the general feeling of being unloved are just some of the issues brought up here, most of which Robbins relates to with his own abused past. Now, back to the overarching uneasiness that a self-help documentary might inspire: people will take whatever they wish out of a movie like this, depending on what they are looking for. Objectively, documentaries are thought to be real when they are without personal bias, rather than amplifying a certain side of a story. In this regard, Berlinger is unapologetic about how he portrays his subject, intending to highlight the good a film like this can bring. In an industry of evergrowing takedown documentaries that seek out the bad in the world, Berlinger attempts to be among the minorities of good-hearted and inspiring films. What is entirely undeniable, however, is that Robbins helps people in need of help, seemingly telling them the things that they already know but in his trademark will-power framed mindset. Perhaps Robbins is as divisive as he is because what he’s selling might be smoke and mirrors: is the idea of happiness an illusion? Is willing yourself to be happy delusional? Does it last beyond the six-day event? And if it works, does it really matter? As Christian Bale’s Batman says at the end of 2008’s “The Dark Knight” in response to a series of crimes that have been pinned on the caped crusader, “Sometimes, the truth isn’t good enough. Sometimes people deserve more. Sometimes, people deserve to have their faith rewarded.” “Tony Robbins: I Am Not Your Guru” is unrated, but features strong language. 115 minutes. Now streaming on Netflix. •
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