By: Ann Catlin | Thursday, April 4, 2013
More people over 60 are turning to massage therapy for self-care and to help ease symptoms associated with chronic ailments. If you have clientele in this age group it’s possible that you will eventually have a client who is living with Parkinson’s disease (PD). It’s estimated that at least 500,000 people are diagnosed in the United States. It’s important to have at least a basic understanding about this disease, what to expect, and how you can best serve your client. This article is part one of a two part series. Here, I will offer an overview of PD and how it impacts daily functioning of the persons who have it.
more »
-
By: Ann Catlin | Thursday, October 4, 2012
Some think compassion is an attribute reserved for spiritual leaders. (Think Mother Teresa caring for the poorest of the poor in the streets of Calcutta.) But compassionate presence isn’t just reserved for people who travel a moral high ground. It’s something we all can cultivate and draw upon when life calls us to the bedside to care for someone in need.more »
-
By: Ann Catlin, OTR, LMT | Thursday, May 3, 2012
Each of us, at some point, will become a caregiver to a loved one, parent or friend. Many of us can point to this kind of experience as the catalyst to our massage therapy careers. The benefits that come from being a caregiver are many and I've learned that my work caring for my clients is not separate from my spiritual practice — it is one.
I recentlymore »
-
By: Ann Catlin, LMT, NCTMB, OTR | Friday, April 1, 2011
We are all either an elder (some of us), someone who cares about an elder (most of us), or someone who will be an elder (practically all of us). According to the American Medical Association, in 2011 America's 78 million baby boomers will begin turning 65 at a rate of one every 10 seconds.Of those, about 69 percent will need some form of long-term care.more »
-
By: Ann Catlin, LMT, NCTMB, OTR | Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Part one of this article dealt with facts about Alzheimer's disease. As an educator, I believe that facts are a good place to start to understand a topic. Facts give us the big picture about the disease, demographics and guidelines. I've been around people with dementia my entire professional career. I've seen how this disease takes the brain a little at amore »
-
By: Ann Catlin, LMT, NCTMB, OTR | Saturday, January 1, 2011
You don't have to look too far to find a person with Alzheimer's disease (AD) or someone caring for a family member with this devastating condition. While teaching massage therapists about working with people with Alzheimer's disease, common questions - and misperceptions - emerge.
Sound information gives us a foundation from which to act and increases ourmore »
-
By: Ann Catlin, LMT, NCTMB, OTR | Monday, November 1, 2010
As a massage therapist, like other health care professionals, you are expected to adopt and uphold standards of practice that serve as "guiding principles" in scope of practice, client relationships, clinical decisions, and business practices.
If you choose to work in hospice you enter a complex field of service that exposes you to ethical issues andmore »
-
By: Ann Catlin, LMT, NCTMB, OTR | Wednesday, September 1, 2010
My last article focused on keys to opening doors to eldercare and hospice. If you desire to work in these settings, my guess is you have wondered: 1) How do I get my foot in the door? 2) How do I generate a clientele? 3) How can I get paid? All very valid questions! A few months ago, Massage Today conducted a poll asking two questions: "Do you providemore »
-
By: Ann Catlin, LMT, NCTMB, OTR | Tuesday, June 1, 2010
It's no secret that the fastest-growing segment of our population is over the age of 65 -- and the greatest increase is occurring in those 85 and above. At the same time, there is growing awareness of the benefits of massage for people who are affected by debilitating illness, injury or cognitive impairment.
There is clearly a burgeoning market for massagemore »
-
By: Ann Catlin, LMT, NCTMB, OTR | Saturday, May 1, 2010
I remember a woman I'll call Grace whom I visited frequently in a skilled-care facility. She was a lovely 75-year-old woman, and her room was full of paintings she had created over the years as well as memorabilia from her travels around the world.
I often would find her walking in the hallway and we would return to her room for our visit. She loved tomore »
![[[Site_Title]]](graphics/images/logo.png){kind=logo}