11/02/2022
New CEU certs of completion to add to the wall. Good God, the wall of certs. Trust me, I'm not putting these up for bragging rights. Unfortunately with the biases that exist against therapists of my race in the massage therapy industry, I had been advised by a colleague 7 years ago that I should put up my certifications of completion because I wouldn't want anyone to assume I'm one of "those" massage therapists. This person could not have been more right, and it's proven to my benefit - although I have had the validity of my training and even my college diploma questioned, because I guess some people think that there is a slim chance someone who is a Licensed Massage Therapist could have gone to college at some point in their life. I have been criticized by others in my profession for having my certificates displayed, arguing that it's an act of boastfulness. Well, now hopefully it's clear why I display mine - because Asian Pacific Islander Massage Therapists are always questioned to the validity of their license, their knowledge and experience, and despite physical proof are still often not believed. I have also been riduculed for choosing to practice Medical Massage soley, even by those in my own profession (you would think other therapists would be more welcoming, but that's not always the case) - the question has been raised countless times of why I have to call it Medical Massage. The answer is because that's the name of the modality, to change its name is to plagiarize it, and I choose to practice it because it's the modality that works best in helping chronic pain and aiding in the success of a client's current physical thrrapy program. Basically because I believe in the modality and have seen it work to the benefit of the client more often than not. And there's your answer. I cannot make anyone accept what they choose not to, and even some who read this will remain sceptics, but in any case - there, you have the truth. The beauty of this industry is there are a plethora of therapists and you can always choose someone else - medical massage does not work for all cases. What it would be like to live in a time when it's ok to know what I know, and practice how I choose, and not have to prove it every second because of how I look. Maybe one day I will know what that's like in this lifetime. That would be nice. But until then, here you go.
On the other hand I'm always excited to learn new techniques. Will I use all of them? No. But I love learning, and this Pin and Release technique - It really works well. It's made a difference in my own physical therapy and I have testimonial from clients so far that it's working. So thank you, Jim Earley, for teaching this course; and thank you, Larry Heisler for hosting this class. This has made my protocol lists for sure.
