Trauma can show up on the massage table in ways practitioners may not expect. In this episode of The ABMP Podcast, Angie Parris is joined by Upledger Institute instructors Catherine Whelan, Eric Moya, and Natalie Bledstein to explore what it means to be trauma-informed and how that differs from providing trauma-specific care.

They discuss recognizing when a client may be moving outside their window of tolerance, the importance of consent and communication, and practical ways to help clients stay present and grounded during a session.

Guests:

Eric Moya began his career as a massage therapist in 1997 and quickly moved into studying the osteopathic family of therapies including CranioSacral Therapy, lymphatic drainage, and visceral manipulation. With an interest in the body, mind, spirit connection, Eric began formal mental health training with a masters in mental health in 2007. Eric is also a senior instructor for the Upledger Institute over the past 27 years. During that time, Eric has contributed original coursework in the curriculum in addition to teaching core curriculum courses. Within the past 20 years, Eric has completed additional training in mindfulness, meditation, working with trauma, and has developed his own curriculum integrating body, mind, and spirit in clinical practice. Currently, Eric is working on a Ph.D in clinical psychology with an emphasis on psychoanalytic/psychodynamic approaches to therapy and qualitative research methods.

Natalie Bledstein, OTR/L, CST-D, SEP, has been an Occupational Therapist for over 30 years. Natalie has in-depth experience in Sensory Integration and CranioSacral Therapy. She currently teaches CS1, SER1, and SER2 for the Upledger Institute. Natalie's interest in trauma recovery led her to seek professional mentorship as part of completing the three-year Somatic Experiencing Practitioner certification.

Catherine Whelan is an Upledger CranioSacral Therapist and CranioSacral Therapy instructor with more than two decades of experience in the wellness field. Catherine's foundational background with a degree in kinesiology, personal training, and bodywork shapes her individual practice. For the past 5 years, she has been working collaboratively with other practitioners, including trauma therapists, to create a more community-based approach to wellness.

Resources:

Website: https://info.upledger.com/craniosacral-therapy-trauma-informed/

Host:

Angie Parris is a licensed massage therapist and is the advertising director for ABMP. She is Chopra Center Certified in meditation and ayurvedic lifestyle. Her training explores physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health. Angie is also the founder of the nonprofit, Project Inti, an organization that provides aid to low-income Peruvian families and communities. For more information, visit www.projectinti.org.

Sponsors:

Upledger CranioSacral Therapy addresses deep restrictions, supports neurological and fascial systems, and enhances whole-body function—by working with the body's natural healing processes.

For over forty years, Upledger Institute International has led the field of CranioSacral Therapy—setting the global standard for education and clinical application. With trained therapists in more than 120 countries, CST continues to evolve through ongoing clinical experience and alignment with current scientific understanding.

CST integrates seamlessly into any manual therapy practice and supports common to complex and chronic conditions—orthopedic, neurological, pediatric, geriatric, and beyond.

Learn from our International Teaching Team—experienced clinicians who help you develop your skills, expand your clinical reasoning, and achieve greater clinical outcomes.

Begin your training for as little as one hundred dollars a month.

Find a class near you at upledger.com/courses or call 800-233-5880, extension 2—and begin your CranioSacral Therapy journey with the leaders who continue to shape the profession.

Website: upledger.com/courses 

Email: upledger@upledger.com 

Phone: 800-233-5880 Ext 2 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/upledger.institute 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/upledger_institute_intl/ 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSIFELbP6Jsp55cb9puZigQ 

Anatomy Trains is a global leader in online anatomy education and also provides in-classroom certification programs for structural integration in the US, Canada, Australia, Europe, Japan, and China, as well as fresh-tissue cadaver dissection labs and weekend courses. The work of Anatomy Trains originated with founder Tom Myers, who mapped the human body into 13 myofascial meridians in his original book, currently in its fourth edition and translated into 12 languages. The principles of Anatomy Trains are used by osteopaths, physical therapists, bodyworkers, massage therapists, personal trainers, yoga, Pilates, Gyrotonics, and other body-minded manual therapists and movement professionals. Anatomy Trains inspires these practitioners to work with holistic anatomy in treating system-wide patterns to provide improved client outcomes in terms of structure and function.    

Website: anatomytrains.com    

Email: info@anatomytrains.com          

Facebook: facebook.com/AnatomyTrains 

Instagram: www.instagram.com/anatomytrainsofficial

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2g6TOEFrX4b-CigknssKHA 

Precision Neuromuscular Therapy seminars (www.pnmt.org) have been teaching high-quality seminars for more than 20 years. Doug Nelson and the PNMT teaching staff help you to practice with the confidence and creativity that comes from deep understanding, rather than the adherence to one treatment approach or technique.

Find our seminar schedule at pnmt.org/seminar-schedule with over 60 weekends of seminars across the country.

Or meet us online in the PNMT Portal, our online gateway with access to over 500 videos, 37 NCBTMB CEs, our Discovery Series webinars, one-on-one mentoring, and much, much more! All for the low yearly cost of $167.50. Learn more at pnmt.thinkific.com/courses/pnmtportal!

Follow us on social media: @precisionnmt on Instagram or at Precision Neuromuscular Therapy Seminars on Facebook.

Ep 588 – Beyond the Tissue: Trauma-Informed Care with Angie Parris

The ABMP Podcast | Speaking With the Massage & Bodywork Profession

Ep 588 – Beyond the Tissue: Trauma-Informed Care with Angie Parris