Teaching Archives - Tracy Walton & Associates

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 […]

Teaching and the Worst Form of Love

August 3, 2014 by Tracy Walton 9 Comments

I was worried. Really worried. How could I teach effectively online, where I couldn’t see my students’ faces? How would we connect as a group if we were scattered so widely? Would online sessions ever feel like a living classroom? The warm kind of classroom, with padded seats and honest conversations and a beating heart? […]

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.