Massage Therapy Journal Fall 2024

78 • Massage Therapy Journal

of perceived change on each outcome measure, suggesting that using integrative therapies in community mental health practice may hold promise of enhancing mental health outcomes and improving quality of life. Working as part of a larger integrative health care team does require massage therapists communicate well with both the client and other health care professionals, while also remaining HIPAA compliant. “I’ll ask how other therapies are going, what their goals are, and what progress they’re making,” Howe says. “I am always open to professional relationships that support clients’ growth.” Massage Therapy for Combat Veterans: When Your Clients Don’t Disclose Mental Health Conditions In some instances, individuals who have been diagnosed with PTSD may not always disclose their diagnosis to their massage therapist. With PTSD—or any type of mental health condition— there is often still a stigma attached, even as we’re getting better about talking about mental health more generally. A retrospective case report 4 exploring the benefits of massage for combat injuries in a veteran with undisclosed PTSD explains: “Mental illness also carries the weight of stigma, which increases a likelihood of nondisclosure whether care is sought or not … Specifically, veterans may seek clinical care from providers who are not privy to medical records and/or provide complementary

Fitch agrees, and also offers a reminder about scope of practice. “Massage therapists should consider integrating their services with other health care professionals who have trauma informed training,” she says. “Massage therapists do not have the training to navigate these therapeutic relationships as talk therapists and should never try to do both massage therapy and talk therapy.” An older 2005 study 3 explored the commingling of integrative therapies— including massage, acupuncture and Reiki—into community mental health practice. The pilot study was conducted using interview data before and self-report instruments after participants completed a brief program of integrative therapy experienced trauma and were receiving ongoing psychotherapy, were assigned to a single modality of integrative therapy based on clinical judgment, availability of practitioners and client interest. After receiving the assigned therapy, participants completed an investigator-generated instrument with Likert-scaled ratings of satisfaction and perceived changes in four dimensions of trauma recovery. The study found all participants reported high levels of satisfaction and significant levels accompanying ongoing psychotherapy. The 25 participants, all of whom had

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