Trauma-Informed Massage Therapy

Trauma affects more than your mind.

You may have pains that are unexplained. You’ve been to many doctors who cannot identify anything wrong. They are frustrated and say or indicate that it’s all in your head.

They are not far off because the thing is psychosomatic, but the dismissal is uncalled for!

When something happens (a trauma, a stressful event, many years of constant stress that builds up, surgery, etc.), it affects your body.

Your Nervous System knows.

Your nervous system goes into fight/flight mode and sends signals to certain areas of your body to guard, which tells the tissues to tense. After a long time, this constant tension creates chronic pain and other problems.

When this is the case, no matter how much we try to get the muscles to relax, they won’t for very long. The key, then, is to get the nervous system to relax.

Safety is a key to healing.

Your nervous system and body need a safe enough environment to release the built-up emotions or to allow you to feel again. You and your body need to know you have a choice at all times. 

You are in charge! Although I have 15 years of experience doing massage therapy and 5 years of experience working with emotional safety, you are the one who knows what is best for you, not me! It’s my job to learn what’s going on for you, create space for your healing, and closely observe your body’s responses to see what’s working or not for you and your body. 

Better out than in!

It is helpful to have a trusted counselor or spiritual guide you are working with as well as your massage sessions because hidden mental and emotional pains will surface as your tissues relax. You may need support for that.

True healing work is not easy, but it is worth it! In the long run, it is less painful to address pain than to ignore it. Medicine is often bitter, but the healing can be so sweet!

My own story

I grew up being abused for 10 years before my father was put in prison. When I was 19, I was so angry and in such despair that I knew I had to either heal or die.

I got into Massage Therapy because I wanted to provide for others what I wished for myself. To receive safe, healing touch. As I went through massage school then worked in the industry, I learned to be present in my body, to trust it and other people’s touch.

Over the years, I discovered lots of painful beliefs and thoughts as my body released tension. As I went into those pains and meticulously healed each one, I found more freedom in my body and discovered more joy and pleasure than I ever thought possible.

I am so glad I put the time, effort, and money into doing this work myself, and now I’d like to help you do the same along with your team of other healing professionals.

A Client’s Example

A client of mine is a veteran. Her service in the armed forces ended five years ago; and since then, she has had physical pain that her doctors cannot explain or get rid of.

When she first came in, I believed that the chronic stress she experienced in the armed forces caused her tissues to tense up which caused pain and dysfunction over time. During her massages, I invited her to pay attention to the sensations of her body, do visualizations and breathe with the work, and to feel any emotions that came up.

Her main pain spot couldn’t be touched; so I worked other areas of her body, and she felt it in her pain spot. For homework, I recommended she surround herself with beautiful things to look at. The purpose of this is to get her nervous system to relax; to learn that it is safe now.

After the first session, she told me that she felt like we addressed things no one else ever had. After several sessions, she reported her pain lessening and changing, which it hadn’t done in years.

It will take a while yet to reset her nervous system, and there are a few other components she’ll need to work with; but once it’s done, her body will right itself, and she will be out of pain.