Chair Massage @ Mental Health Clinics

[PotHead Pixie]

My main focus with massage is working with people who suffer from various types of mental and psychological disturbances, such as Depression, PTSD, Sleep Issues, etc. I've been massage therapist for a year & half now, slowly working my way to doing something extraordinary for this focus area, but I am wondering if another great foot-in-the-door avenue would be chair massage at mental health clinics. Do you think it's worth a shot? I haven't really heard about this being done before. I have a massage chair and am prepared to solicit my business, as I have connections. I have also learned how to put together and run a chair massage business. I am just currently trying to get out of a Mon-Fri 9-5 desk job (I just really need the $), and I am only practicing massage on Saturdays, but I am itching to begin doing whatever I can to step in the direction I want to go.

Would love to hear thoughts, opinions, and any experiences with this. Thanks!

 

[Pancakes]

Chair Massage @ Mental Health Clinics

Hi there,

Just last week I went to the Dementia Ward of a retirement complex to do chair massage. A lot of the people were in wheel chairs so a lot of it was from mid-back up and for not too long. Most of the people were genial, some confused though, and of course most of them wouldn't hesitate to let me know how the pressure was! There were a couple women whose condition or temperament made it more suitable to do mostly energy work, so if you have that in your bag it could come in handy. Another good thing about the event was the nurses as I guess you could call them, or attendants were always there within sight/earshot so if anything came up I could talk to them, and they helped a lot with communicating to the residents before and sometimes during massages. The overall reaction was positive even if some hesitated or had no idea what they were about to receive. The nurses did a good job talking them into it and the "snowball" effect of seeing others enjoy it first helped. There were a lot of fun and funny moments in the two hours I was there and I also worked on some of the staff. When a few of the residents started batting and kicking a balloon around, we all joined in and it really lightened up the energy of the room we were in. Overall I enjoyed it and would recommend it as something to try- it certainly is possible with the right circumstances. If you have any more questions feel free. Thanks.