Tracy Walton & Associates

Caring for clients with Cancer

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Are There Jobs in Oncology Massage Therapy?

April 24, 2019 by Tracy Walton 2 Comments

Curtiss Beinhorn provides inpatient massage at MD Anderson Cancer Center. (Photo courtesy MD Anderson Integrative Medicine.)

Good question. We get this question a lot. It comes to us from massage therapists who are curious about oncology massage therapy (OMT). It comes from established MTs considering a new direction, and from new MTs who might want to specialize. Some MTs ask us this because they are deciding whether to invest in an […]

Filed Under: Massage, Massage Contraindications, Oncology Massage, The Business of Massage

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

Build a Massage Therapy Practice in 13 Months? Really? (Part 2)

February 27, 2019 by Tracy Walton 2 Comments

In the Part 1 of this interview, Kate Prouty shared some of her strategies for growing a practice from scratch to a full-time, busy practice. In one year, she implemented a lot of ideas. Some of them landed in the last post, and the rest are featured here. Here in Part 2, we continue the […]

Filed Under: Hospital-Based Massage, Oncology Massage, The Business of Massage, Uncategorized

Build a Full MT Practice in 13 Months? Really? (Interview, Part 1)

February 21, 2019 by Tracy Walton 4 Comments

A year ago she started her private practice from nearly nothing. Now Kate Prouty sees anywhere from 15-30 clients each week. Her practice focuses on oncology massage therapy and massage for people with medically complex conditions. In this interview she shares some excellent marketing tips and other tools she used to build her practice, Patient […]

Filed Under: Oncology Massage, The Business of Massage Tagged With: Advanced Mentorship Program, Course, Oncology, Oncology Massage

On Not “Charging What You’re Worth” in Oncology Massage Therapy

March 8, 2018 by Tracy Walton 12 Comments

Recently, in a group of oncology massage therapists, I started a discussion about setting fees for massage therapy. In this particular group, we were all in private practice. They were all participants in my oncology massage therapy mentorship program, and we were talking about money and pricing. It is a charged topic, this question of […]

Filed Under: Oncology Massage, The Business of 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

Little Details Make Big Connections in Oncology Massage

December 9, 2015 by Tracy Walton Leave a Comment

In oncology massage, we know that the little details matter. How you gently tuck the draping so a client’s shoulders stay warm. The way you offer to massage a client’s scalp after hair loss. The way you hit exactly the right spot on your client’s foot, without too much pressure, in the infusion room. The […]

Filed Under: Oncology Massage, The Business of 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

On Laundry and Getting Help

January 22, 2014 by Tracy Walton 11 Comments

I remember the moment when I could no longer face my massage linens. It had been a long, tired battle between me and my laundry. The laundry—a menacing pile of flannel and terrycloth—was winning. That was 20+ years ago. I saw 18-20 clients per week, a dozen in my private practice. Although they were all […]

Filed Under: Oncology Massage, The Business of Massage

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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