Does anyone volunteer treatments for charities

[sjalee2]

I am anxiously waiting for my results of my holistic massage exam and just thinking about how i can fit it into my normal working week.

My partner lost his wife to cancer about 10 yrs ago and he said a while back that hospices rely on volunteers and that massage would be a great thing to be able to provide.

At first i thought that wouldn't be for me but as time has gone on and also because i now work with aquired brain injury clients, i am thinking that i would like to do that.

Is it best to do a related massage course for example with cancer clients or would a general holistic massage ( with the doctors permission) be suitable??

Does anyone volunteer at the moment??

 

[MitteTex]

I have worked within palliative care before. You dont need to do specific training to work for them you just need suitable insurance. I would say you need to be mentally and emotionally prepared for the work though as it can become quite a heart breaking environment if you dont have support outside of it.

Good luck with it all!

 

[Geoff The Phantom Skier]

Sometime ago I volunteered my services for Reiki to a cancer drop in centre. They said that they would love to have me so long as I'd been a Reiki practitioner for at least 2 years, unfortunately I'd only just set up my therapy business.

All the best

Cis

 

[Fades to White]

This is something I keep wanting to do. I earn good money as a therapist but I could still free up a day to do charitable work (I'm happy to work until 10pm at night if it means I get a spare day) and it would be nice to use my skills to help people who perhaps can't afford the therapy and who really need it (although that would mean less golf!).

I did speak to Christies Cancer Hospital earlier in the year but they have a shed load of complementary therapists and several hypnotherapists. I was going to work with bodypositive but they lost their government subsidy and folded (they had previously been paying a hypnotherapist a good rate of pay but he got stroppy when they said they could only afford him half a day per week when they lost funding! What a ........ nevermind).

If anyone knows of a charitable organisation "oop North" (no I don't speak like that, I'm from the South originally ) that might benefit from a hypnotherapist then please let me know.

 

[robinfaifailoa@yahoo.com]

I currently work as a voluntary EFT Practitioner for a Cancer Support Group but I have several years' experience. I also had to be CRB checked. I agree, it can be heart-rendering but I find it the most rewarding work I do. Some hospices won't take on voluntary therapists and require you to send in a CV and put you on their payroll. Voluntary work requires commitment and this is possibly whey they're going down this route now. Don't give up and I wish you the best of luck! Helena

 

[AHM]

Hi, i volunteer reflexology in a cancer hospice also mental health center, and i love it,

 

[The Illuminating Ghost]

My partner has explained that the patients in the hospices are generally ok in themselves and having a treatment can be the highlight of their day. Although they are poorly they have accepted what is happening to them and have a sense of calm. He said it is the families and friends that can be with the patients that are very distressed and you can see their pain, thats the heart renching side of it.

 

[dcslmt]

Bannick, apart from running my own therapy and training practice (next door to you - I'm in Glossop too!), I also manage the Well Being Centre in Stockport - it is part of The Big Life group of charities and social enterprises that also includes the Kath Locke Centre and Zion Centre in Hulme in Manchester. All these Centres are charities working with disadvantaged, marginalised and vulnerable groups of people, and all make use of volunteers, including some complementary therapists and counsellors.

There is also National Phobics Society (which has just been re-named Anxiety UK) which is based at the Zion Centre, and they rely on volunteer counsellors, hypnotherapists, complementary therapists to offer services to people with anxiety disorders throughout the UK.

If you want more info, feel free to PM me.

Masha

 

[Stefan S]

Thanks MashaB and ... Duh I should have thought of The Big Life Group, The Big Issue is part of it and my Manchester premises are on the same street as them!

I didn't actually realise the National Phobics Society was based in Manchester though.

 

[Babe]

Once a month I go to our local women's refuge to give the ladies aromatherapy, reiki and hypnotherapy just so they can feel a bit special during the problem time they are going though These women are great for any feedback I need and it helps them out too.