Secrets of Therapeutic Breast Massage

Breast massage. Those two words often evoke a variety of emotions in massage therapists and their clients alike. The public seems to have little issue seeing models exposing their scantily-clad bodies in video and print advertisements, but should a woman be seen breastfeeding her newborn child in a public place, someone would no doubt call 911 to alert the authorities to the lascivious act. And why? Because breasts are overly sexualized in American culture.As the first Director of Marketing for the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork, I had the opportunity to visit numerous schools across the country. From Hawaii to Florida, and New York to California, I observed significant disparity among massage school licensing curriculums. Most schools would only include techniques that were within the comforts of the owner or school director OR include techniques that were within the comfort zones of the owner or school director. If they weren't comfortable with a technique? The content was removed from the syllabus leaving their students without the skills to help their clients and who could benefit from their treatments.Never let your personal issues negatively impact your client's health. When educators avoid uncomfortable topics, they instill discomfort and fear in their students who eventually pass the uneasiness along to their clients.For decades, a significant number of massage students, massage educators, and massage therapists have allowed their emotions, fears, and painful past experiences to shape their perspectives and opinions around the topic. The good news is, breast massage can relieve a variety of symptoms as well as help in the prevention of numerous breast issues when properly administered.The most crucial key to providing breast massage is to ensure clear communication between the therapist and the client/patient before, during, and after the treatment. Mastering communication skills is crucial for any massage therapist if they hope to minimize misunderstandings while concurrently maximizing their client's benefit from the treatment session.Honestly, it isn't difficult to teach Secrets of Therapeutic Breast Massage from a technique standpoint because the techniques themselves are not complicated. What can be complicated, however, is the dynamic between client and therapist. A significant portion of the two-day training is centered around how the dynamics of a client's past experiences, values, and beliefs can affect their perceptions of the breast massage session.During the Secrets of Therapeutic Breast Massage course lecture, we explain how a client perceives and remembers the breast massage session is their truth-at least to them. The problem is, their truth often does not align with the facts. I am an expert witness in cases involving male massage therapists who have been arrested for sexual misconduct. In every case, the therapist failed to ensure clear communication with their clients and patients. So h...