Tracy Walton & Associates

Caring for clients with Cancer

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Handwriting and Reading with Hands

March 11, 2019 by Tracy Walton 40 Comments

Twenty years ago, a thought came to me during a massage therapy session.  It floated into my massage studio and would not leave. I wrote it down. Once published, the thought kept moving. It turned up here and there: in a couple of books, in an occasional massage school graduation speech, on a massage therapist’s […]

Filed Under: Art and Soul of Massage Therapy, Massage, Massage Education, Rants, The Business of Massage

Growing Up, Getting Real

November 4, 2016 by Tracy Walton 15 Comments

I stand at the side of the bed, looking down long lines of stuffed animals. They form a plush parabola around my sleeping child. For years, they have held all-night, wide-eyed vigils on this bed. By morning they will have been flung at each other in crazy angles. But now, at 11 PM, they are […]

Filed Under: Art and Soul of Massage Therapy, My Little Life

On Not Healing Other People

June 29, 2016 by Tracy Walton 16 Comments

I spent the night in an awful dive of a motel. I had cleared my client schedule and headed out of town, eager to attend the workshop. It was worth the sacrifice. About 20 MTs were gathered in a massage school flanked by woods. It was the early 1990’s, and it might have been the […]

Filed Under: Art and Soul of Massage Therapy, End of Life Care, Hospice, Oncology Massage

Quality of Care in a Thriving Oncology Massage Practice – Meet Our Teacher Erika Slocum

March 4, 2016 by Tracy Walton 9 Comments

Massage therapists often ask for survival tips for growing a practice in oncology massage therapy. Here, we offer the first of occasional “Featured Teacher” posts about successful OMT practitioners among our instructors and colleagues. Erika Slocum has been teaching oncology massage therapy with us since 2011. She co-owns an expanding practice, BlueFern Massage Therapy, with […]

Filed Under: Art and Soul of Massage Therapy, Oncology Massage, Teaching, The Business of Massage

Of Hula Hooping and the Dreaded Self-Care Thing

September 17, 2015 by Tracy Walton 25 Comments

Last month I celebrated my 14-month Hoopiversary. It marks the time I first picked up a hula hoop and began hooping in earnest. In the hooping community, the rules of serious hooping require one to record (and preferably post) a video documenting each major hoopiversary. I dragged my feet on this, worried it would be […]

Filed Under: Art and Soul of Massage Therapy, My Little Life, Uncategorized

My Silver Anniversary: 25 Moments in Massage Therapy

July 21, 2015 by Tracy Walton 35 Comments

Last month I celebrated 25 years in formal massage therapy practice. I’ve been in the same office the whole time, with the same appointment times and the same furniture. Little has changed here over the years, which is good, because I’m not so wild about change. My profession and I have stuck by each other […]

Filed Under: Art and Soul of Massage Therapy, Massage, Oncology Massage

Standing Out in Massage Therapy

March 4, 2015 by Tracy Walton 9 Comments

On the way to my daughter’s school each morning, we pass a line of dense brown bushes in a neighbor’s front yard. Every morning, the bushes shriek at us. They shake and tremble and scream, making a huge deal out of something. On my return trip, they do it again. One morning, curious about the […]

Filed Under: Art and Soul of Massage Therapy, The Business of Massage

The Health History of a Human Being

March 27, 2013 by Tracy Walton 39 Comments

  I begin this first-ever blog with a deep breath… …and the reason I am a massage therapist, from a piece I wrote long ago. We’re all a little older now, but my reason hasn’t changed. My clients’ stories continue to get me up in the morning, and I’m grateful. My two-page health history form […]

Filed Under: Art and Soul of Massage Therapy, Massage Tagged With: client health form, client interview, health history, massage goals

What’s New

Why take a course in oncology massage therapy?

There are so many good reasons. Here are a few:

Service. During cancer treatment and beyond, people need support. They need symptom relief. They need sleep. Oncology massage therapy (OMT) can help people cope during cancer treatment, at end of life, post-treatment, and during diagnosis.
Practice building. With the right skills, you can meet growing client demand and build your practice. You can be part of cancer care. It is better for your business to be able to work with people right then, right where they are, than to refer them out or send them home.
Career satisfaction and longevity. OMT is immensely satisfying work. Your steady presence and your hands can make a huge difference in someone's day or week. You might even find our approach to be easier on your hands and alignment. We offer new ways to provide comfort without effort and "deep tissue" work.

To practice OMT, massage therapists need to know what to ask clients before the massage, and how to use the client's answers. They need to know how to think through what to do, and how to communicate with clients in difficult circumstances. They need confidence, sensitivity, strong interview and table-side instruction. They need to learn from actual case studies and real-world exercises, and good chances to practice.

We provide these learning experiences in our 4-Day Intensive, Oncology Massage Therapy: Caring for Clients with Cancer.

Learn more...

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