Trauma Massage

[I love my mutts~]

I am getting ready to do a Continuing Ed class on Trauma Massage and need some feedback from the Therapist's out there.Couple of questions...  Do you do Trauma work? What do you consider Trauma work to be? How would you handle a client that requests your services and says they are an Abuse Survivor, for example?What do you do if a client starts to cry or have an emotional release during your session?What percent of your clients do you considered to be Trauma clients?Do you feel the need to take a trauma class?Thanks for your input!!  The more info or input you have the better!  Feel Free to email me.Jenny,  Nebraska L.M.T

 

[Maya]

Jenny,I'll address a couple of your questions.I haven't had CE classes on Massage for Trauma, but I do work with people who have had Trauma, and I have had some abuse survivors on my table.If someone were to tell me right up front that they were a survivor of abuse I would probably stress even more heavily that they are able to stop the massage at ANY time.  However, being an abuse survivor myself, I believe it's more likely to come out after the initial massage. But there are definitely things you'd want to watch for. I have to confess that during MT school, if I we were trading with each other and one of the male students was assigned to massage me, I had a tendency to "disassociate."  (It's like viewing your body from outside your body.)You'll probably notice a tendency to have low self-esteem, and there may even be outright denial of the abuse.  Let your intuition guide you... be compassionate.I've had clients cry on the table.  I just still my hands, and tell them to go ahead and take all the time they need. If I had a psychotherapist I was confident about, I would refer the client if needed.I don't feel the need to take a class in it now, but I definitely think it'd be interesting to take someday.

 

[blueplaty15]

Thanks for your response!  I have been doing trauma work for 10 years and your answers seem quite on target.  I forgot to mention in my origianal post, I will be teaching this class.  It is designed to help the non trauma therapist be prepared for the inevitable trauma client.Thanks again! Jenny, LMT

 

[Alvie]

Hi Jenny, I did pt. care in a hospital for 26 years before becoming a CMT so I have witnessed many emotional releases. Some clients will be up front and tell you they have abuse issues, and of course many will not. Trauma comes in many forms. I've had a client have a release after confessing a horrible crime she believes occured. I had a client collapse on the floor in tears, before she got undressed. Her brother killed himself two days prior. It's a time you must be as tender  as possible. You can be professional, compassionate, and understanding. I think half the clients I see have  abuse issues. I'm glad you're teaching a class on it. Great topic for discussion.

 

[Marti]

Thanks for your comments!  I agree it is a good topic for discussion but  it seems like a majority of therapists prefer to avoid the subject.I personally think it should be a topic covered in every massage school.  The chances of getting a Domestic Violence Victim, Sexual Assault victim, war combat vet, loss of a loved one, serious illness or surgery trauma client is very high! We can retruamatize so easily if unaware of how to handle and signs to look for.Hope I get more feed back!Thanks again!Jenny LMT

 

[Pompal 09.]

Jenny,I definitely agree it's much more common than most people think. I myself was diagnosed with PTSD, and was in therapy for a short while.  That was years before I went to MT school. Remember me mentioning disassociation in my previous post?  Well, here I was stressing over not feeling safe with one of my male classmates... and disassociating, when my teacher sort of "caught me" in the act. I don't know how she knew... maybe the look on my face. But she could tell I was having "issues." LOL She just stood at the head of the table and talked to me for a minute to sort of "bring me back to what was going on in my body."Remember 1 in 4 women is sexually abused before she turns 18... and at least 1 in 7 men, last I heard. It was interesting, but when it came to working the abdomen I had a really hard time working on my male classmate, but talked myself into it.  I couldn't believe it when we'd just begun he'd stopped the massage and got up and left the room.  Suzie our teacher told me later, he'd been abused by a babysitter, who unfortunately looked a lot like me.  She'd unknowingly put 2 abuse survivors together.  Months later in the program, we traded massages and I have to say, we were really proud of ourselves.   You should have seen Bill... our other teacher, he just beamed. LOLBTW, with the loss of a loved one. I've stressed to other clients that Massage can be a particularly thoughtful gift for those who are bereaved.  I myself lost my mother on Tuesday, and have been using some essential oils for "Trauma" every day... and I believe they have helped me to deal with things as well as I have.  And though it's been less than a week... I CRAVE bodywork. My body knows what it needs... And I will be calling for reflexology and a massage ASAP!

 

[Shazz]

Maestra, I intend that you find peace during this difficult time and that you get bodywork and nurture yourself right now.

 

[Jay T (UK)]

Maestra;

I am so sorry for your so very recent loss. It's been 11 plus months since my husband died, and sometimes it still seems like last week. I'm glad you've found some things that comfort you. I can't imagine what it must be like to lose a parent.

Your insight into massage and ptsd/trauma is so right on. I've not had a lot of issues with my clients, but I personally have disassociated as a recipient. I was molested as a child.

The number one trigger for me is to have the person working on me not be responsive to my needs, specifically to "Owe, that hurts". If I have to tell someone more than twice that they are hurting me, all systems on planet Savannah shut down..............once it occurred when I was getting a massage from a very nervous student. She worked too deep, missed all the clues that she was torturing me (wincing, pulling away, holding my breath. This was before I rediscovered "my voice" enough to actually give verbal feedback.) and on top of it my body temp plummeted and I was so cold I must have been blue. I completely checked out. Not asleep. Just GONE. When it was over, I was in a daze for hours, having crying spells.

The last time I experienced this I was a many time client of a very well respected MT in my area. He teaches, and has many MT's as clients and is booked out more than three months.

He told me at the very first session that it was of the utmost importance to verbalize when it was "too much", because of the pain response and blah blah blah. I'm sort of a weenie when it comes to pressure and pain, and I have a lot of frozen joint issues. But he said that, and I trusted him.
His sessions always pushed the limit, but I did see results, so I tried to be a good sport and just breathed through the pain.

The last time I went to him, he worked on my toes (I've had neuropathy from chemo and a misaligned pelvis, and have very severe bunions). It was.........excruciating. I was pulling my feet away from him, and telling him to stop. And he kept at it. I finally started to cry. He apologized later but said "I really was only using this much pressure" and he showed me by doing a similar move on my fingers.

I don't necessarily doubt that he was. But the point is, even if it was just a feathery brush, it was excrutiating to me, and he didn't stop when I asked. Just like being abused as a kid.................he decided therapeutically I needed this, and he pushed through. I felt like a victim all over again.

Somehow I got out of his office, and all I can remember of the next couple of hours is sobbing. He's very technically talented, but I'll never go back to him. What kept going through my head is "It's happening again". I wasn't valued, I wasn't respected. He lied to me. I felt like I was five years old again, and no one believed me or was listening to me.

So yes. We can be so vulnerable there on that table. It's most paramount that people feel safe, and abuse victims especially are often incapable of verbalizing their needs. And sometimes are so out of tune with their bodies that they won't allow them to register normal discomfort responses like pulling away, clenching fists, etc. Some of us became masters of disguise, and you can't tell from the outside what's going on inside. So we can be tough to work with.

Two weeks after my husband died, a dear friend that trades massage with me called and said "This is what I can do for you. I want to give you a massage. This isn't a trade." So I said yes. When I got to her office, it was such a gift..............it was like being in a safe haven, and I sat on her couch and began to cry. She crawled up beside me and held me for nearly half an hour and just listened to me cry, doing nothing but holding me. When I finally got back to the surface, she had me get on the table and did the sweetest, gentlest energy work. I'd been having nightmares since my husbands death, and terrible insomnia, and I couldn't say what she did, but near as I can tell it was magic. I never had another nightmare again and the insomnia faded.

And one final memory just popped up. Many years ago I was doing a massage, and I was pretty green. Not sure exactly what I did, but I was very overly conscientious about protecting her modesty, so I had the sheet pulled up to her chin. I was working on her neck, and apparently somehow got the sheet under her shoulders so it was a little tight across her neck. She got very agitated and reached up and grabbed it and pulled it away. Apparently she had been mugged years before, and her assailant grabbed her from behind in a choke hold. Once she got the sheet loosened she relaxed and apologized and explained about her panic.

The good. The bad and the ugly. I'll take the good any day!

 

[Katy M]

Jenny,

Are you looking specifically for massage work with trauma? I can answer your questions based on my CranioSacral Therapy where I do specifically work with trauma.

Let me know.
Brian

 

[Luke808666]

Intuitive_Healers, and Savannah Bloom,
Thank you for your comments. Though, this thread has been reactivated, my loss was actually back in April of 2004. Last Sunday marked the 4th anniversary of the loss of my mother.
But thank you anyway. And yes, I definitely made a point to get a massage this past week!

 

[B H]

That bodywork evokes emotional/spiritual responses is a given (as bad breath, etc,) addressing these are integral to our work. We have the responsibility to develop the posture, heartfull skills and trust in the process to support our celebrants during these episodes.

It is not something we can or should outsource -except in extreme circumstances.

 

[Jr. is angry]

maestra;

Duh. Obviously I never looked at the dates on the posts! I was just so interested in the topic of trauma, and the flood of memories it brought up for me thinking about it............

Sometimes it seems like I process and think better through my fingers on the keyboard. If I could surgically implant a keyboard onto my body, I'd probably communicate with the world a whole lot easier! Ha! Sounds like a movie of the week.
:
Savannah

 

[agent4927]

trauma

I've been doing massage for 24 years. I've had many people cry or have some other form of release on the table. Some associate it directly with their trauma, some don't. Men aren't always ready to hear that the emotional truama has been stored in their body, so I'm VERY careful what I say. Add to that my location, which is hard core Bible Belt. When I lived in CA, I could say what needed to be said without fear, here, I'm careful.

I had a man today who was in a horrible accident many years ago. Broken back, severe whiplash etc. Even being touched in the torso or hips will make him flinch. Today was his second visit, but it's taken him 2 years to be willing to get on my table, and the very first time he was so ticklish it was very difficult.

As for specific techniques, If I feel their breathing chage in a way that indicates they are about to have an emotional cry, I'll slowly release pressure, and lay my hands flat, get the chair and sit near their head. Once it passes I ask if they're OK, and how they want to proceed. Sometimes they tell me what happened, sometimes they don't.

For someone who has a more physical response, such as being ticklish, I flatten my fingers, and tell them to place their hand over mine. I'll the have them supply the pressure, (putting them back in control) and I will fine tune the direction. This almost always stops the tickle response.

I have a few other tricks up my sleeve but they can't be used lightly, and I wait until after the session to discuss it. At that point I have to decide what their state of mind is like, and how well I know them. I'll let them know that the truama itself can be removed with another technique I know (EFT) in a quick and fairly painless way. I let them know my success rate (98%) and tell them that if they want more info, I'll be happy to explain it. They usually need to think on it. I'm also trained in hypnosis. Keep in mind that this is what I do with simple trauma, not complex long-standing psychological issues. If someone walks into my office and is already in excruciating pain, I'll do EFT first to knock the pain down so they can be worked on. I then release whatever spasms they have, and refer them to their Chiroporactor for adjustment. (which is usually needed if they're in that much pain)