Substance Abuse and Massage Therapy, 4 CE

Course Description

The “Substance Abuse and Massage Therapy, 4 CE” hour course is designed as an introduction for the use of massage therapy and other holistic protocols and treatments as complementary adjunct therapies for individuals who are struggling with addiction.

The “Substance Abuse and Massage Therapy” course will cover:

• Trauma from childhood into adulthood which may lead to addiction
• The many reasons one chooses not to seek help
• Physiological and psychological effects
• Boundary setting for the massage therapist
• Client emotional release during the session and emotional first aid
• An introduction on the various types of massage often used in the addiction recovery field
• Ideas on how to adjust your own sessions for working with those in recovery
• Statistics and facts on military PTSD and how they incorporate holistic treatment therapies

Incorporating massage into a substance abuse program is beneficial in all the stages of addiction recovery. Massage decreases pain, enhances the immune response and promotes an overall sense of well-being. Research has shown that massage also has the ability to decrease anxiety, depression, agitation and cravings.

Massage has the unique ability to affect the physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being – from the spiritual body to our chemical composition. Soon, all addiction and recovery treatment programs will recognize that massage has the ability to assist in healing the mind-body connection.

When that happens, therapeutic massage will be integrated into many more addiction treatment facilities giving the client more self-help tools to succeed in recovery.

Educational Objectives

Upon completion of this course, the massage therapist should be able to:

• Identify why someone who is abusing a substance does not seek help.
• How the effects of massage increases dopamine and serotonin levels which benefit in addiction recovery.
• How the massage therapist can set necessary boundaries in sessions and offer emotional first aid to a client that may experience emotional release during the session.

The “Substance Abuse and Massage Therapy, 4 CE” course is offered as massage continuing education and for educational purposes only. It is not intended to give medical or professional advice to therapists or a client in recovery. Massage therapy should not be used instead of a medically licensed recovery facility program, but is intended as an adjunct therapy.