Did you know therapists carry out Continuing Professional Development (CPD)? Now before you yawn & quickly leave, trust me, CPD is more exciting than the name suggests.... for you it means your therapist is serious about their profession; they're signed up to a professional membership which wants to ensure they are staying updated of current training methods and not stagnating doing the same thing all the time. For me it means I balance CPD requirements with courses I've seen that I just have to do because they sound so great! So, what have I been up to?
Recently I completed a lower back pain course. As a therapist I found it absolutely fascinating and it really helped me feel more confident about treating various muscles involved in lower back pain. To make sure I'm feeling confident when I've got a paying client on my couch, I'm also carrying out some case studies - so in about 10 weeks time I'm going to be happy dealing with problems with the piriformis, poas, quatratus lumborum & other associated muscles (Don't worry, you don't have to know where they are - you just need to know where it hurts & be able to point to it!)
The other training I've recently carried out is story massage. I initially went on this training as I facilitate baby massage classes and was asked about a possibility of a class for toddlers. I thought this would provide parents with more tools to try to engage with their children who aren't that keen on traditional massage. Well, the story massage day blew my mind with the versatility and the realisation the only limits on this are your own! I came away with my mind wandering with lots of possibilities and I've managed to rein it into two ideas I want to progress in my private practice.
So, what is it? Story Massage is based on the idea that children love a story - whether its a book, something they're doing with their teddies or a game they're making up with their friends. It's having your child fully clothed (something different to traditional massage) & using massage moves while a story is being told. This means it can be done anywhere (we saw pictures of teenagers massaging each other in a supermarket!), can be adapted to any situation (it has been used to help Japanese parents reach out to their children affected by a tsunami), any age (& during the training it was fascinating to hear how the other attendees were thinking of using it in their own environments for different ages & how it has already been used with adults suffering from dementia).
For me, I plan to use it with younger children who need help calming down, whether it's for sleep, anxiety or another issue. Depending on the age, it may involve making a story before the child arrives, or a collaboration to produce a story they can own and which can help empower them. Like a lot of my business I'm expecting this to develop as time goes on, but I'm excited by where this CPD has taken me & what I'm going to be planning from October!
So, if you see your therapist has been completing Continuing Professional Development don't switch off - look at how their new skills can help you & know they're serious about their business, passionate about learning more & hopefully inspired to try doing things differently!
