Our Blog

Redefining Pain Management: The Transformative Role of Palliative Massage Therapists

Dame Cicely Saunders defined the concept of “total pain” as the suffering that encompasses all of a person’s physical, psychological, social, spiritual, and practical struggles back in 1964. Now, that... ...more

Blog

August 01, 2024•4 min read

Why Give to Healwell

Healwell plants seeds. Seeds take time to grow. Saplings don’t provide shade…yet. Flowers don’t bloom right away. Change is a process. That’s what we do. We tend. We water. We weed. We cultivate the s... ...more

Blog

June 17, 2024•2 min read

Massage Therapy and HCAHPS

Will offering massage therapy increase a hospital's HCAHPs? Probably not the way you might think... Certainly, the hospital-based massage therapists I’ve met and trained are quite flexible, but we mak... ...more

Blog

May 30, 2024•7 min read

A Glossary of the Massage Therapy Profession

Demystify massage therapy organizations. Learn about major associations and their roles. ...more

Blog

April 30, 2024•3 min read

Healwell is seeding change!

Healwell's new logo is based on dandelion imagery which, I think you’ll agree, is deeply fitting. ...more

Blog

January 25, 2024•3 min read

The Top Five Things You Should Know About Hospital-Based Massage Therapy

Massage therapists are more than “nice to have.” ...more

Blog

September 08, 2023•7 min read

Disparity is Death

None of us know the names of the Black women with breast cancer who make up the “40% more” deaths than their white counterparts every year. This is partly by design. ...more

Blog

August 03, 2023•5 min read

Connection

It's no surprise to you that humans are social creatures. We crave connection and the feeling of belonging. ...more

Blog

July 24, 2023•2 min read

Healwell Dosing Study Infographic

Corey Rivera created this excellent infographic to help you understand Healwell's latest dosing study. ...more

Blog

July 01, 2023•0 min read

Three Reasons You Should Read Research

Corey Rivera shares three reasons you should read research... and three reasons why you might not. ...more

Blog

June 27, 2023•2 min read

Ways to Give

You already know that Healwell does important work. What you might not know is that all that work is made possible by generous people like you. ...more

Blog

May 08, 2023•4 min read

Have you ever gone to a funeral...

Have you ever gone to a funeral, and the deceased wasn't there? ...more

Blog

April 14, 2023•3 min read

Thank You for Listening

Every word and action make an impact. ...more

Blog

February 15, 2023•1 min read

Living with Juvenile Arthritis

July is Juvenile Arthritis Awareness month for recognizing the 300,000 or so children in the U.S. with the disease. ...more

Blog

July 04, 2022•3 min read

Strange Bedfellows

Massage therapy has a sex problem. We don’t like to talk about it. ...more

Blog

June 20, 2022•6 min read

Trusting (and Supporting) Nurses

I trust nurses. Doctors? Sure, they’re fine, they diagnose and treat. But nurses do the hardest work – the care work – without the accolades or the pay that doctors receive. ...more

Blog

May 20, 2022•2 min read

Conscious Discomfort

I have two experiences that are coming together in my life in a very interesting way... ...more

Blog

April 27, 2022•2 min read

Out of the Community and Into the Fire

Can social media be useful in the fight for social justice, or are you just screaming into the void? ...more

Blog

March 31, 2022•1 min read

Flawed Research

Cal's most recent column for Massage & Bodywork Magazine explores four reasons why it's difficult to conduct a proper study. ...more

Blog

March 14, 2022•2 min read

Apology and Forgiveness

Apology and forgiveness. So simple, right? Then why do we all find it so difficult? ...more

Blog

March 04, 2022•1 min read

Social Justice Adventuring Party

The term Social Justice Warrior is often used to refer to people who lean left, liberal or progressive, believe in fairness and generally live in a way that makes it clear that they’re not down with t... ...more

Blog

February 24, 2022•5 min read

More Than One Way

There is more than one way to fight. More than one way to change the future. There has to be. ...more

Blog

February 09, 2022•4 min read

Let's Walk the Walk Before We Talk the Talk

Healthcare professionals (and everyone) need to have more and better conversations about end of life choices and advanced care plans. ...more

Blog

February 01, 2022•1 min read

When Massage Quits You: The Tangible

Being a massage therapist is a rough gig... Among the things that could be under our control, there is a quietly looming monster that patiently waits: disability. ...more

Blog

January 22, 2022•3 min read

When Massage Quits You: The Intangible

What happens when you can’t massage anymore? This is the first of a two-part description on the decline of my ability to perform massage. ...more

Blog

January 15, 2022•4 min read

Telling the Truth

Cal's column for Massage & Bodywork Magazine explores ways that massage therapists can stop being purveyors of misinformation. ...more

Blog

January 07, 2022•1 min read

Real Self-Care

“I do not make resolutions. Winter is not the time to suddenly stop eating.” ~Me on facebook, every year since 2017 ...more

Blog

January 03, 2022•1 min read

Independence

There are so many moments when, if I am listening, I have my every assumption challenged. ...more

Blog

December 15, 2021•2 min read

Searching for Joy

Luckily, rebellions aren’t about what they want us to be, they’re about what we want to create. Sometimes the most defiant acts are those of joy, happiness, and community. ...more

Blog

December 01, 2021•2 min read

How to be Wrong

Massage uses ostriching as a default response to being wrong. A profession that wants to be taken seriously as healthcare should not act this way. ...more

Blog

November 16, 2021•3 min read

Don’t Let Your COVID Guard Down

In this edition of their column for Massage & Bodywork Magazine, Cal warns, "If you’re feeling bored or finding yourself rolling your eyes at “yet another COVID story,” snap out of it. ...more

Blog

November 08, 2021•1 min read

Seeing Past Our Hands

In this column for Massage & Bodywork Magazine, Cal explores measuring the value of the practitioner, not the modality. ...more

Blog

September 07, 2021•1 min read

Harmful Stories

Cal's column for Massage & Bodywork Magazine tackles the stories we tell about health and explores how to dismantle our assumptions. ...more

Blog

July 02, 2021•1 min read

Resources: The Worst Things (Part 2)

Follow-up to "The Worst Things (Part 2)." Resources and recommendations to combat the silo-ing and imagined hierarchy within the massage therapy profession. ...more

Blog

April 16, 2021•2 min read

The Worst Things (Part 2)

This week, we consider the issue of silos and what can reasonably be called in-fighting. ...more

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April 12, 2021•3 min read

Resources: The Worst Things (Part 1)

Follow-up to "The Worst Things (Part 1)." Resources to support self-exploration and elevation of the practice that's happening right under your own hands. ...more

Blog

April 09, 2021•1 min read

The Worst Things (Part 1)

Healwell’s post regarding the social media response to the Atlanta murders that took place at three spas inspired lots of dialogue. ...more

Blog

April 05, 2021•4 min read

Do No Harm

Yesterday morning, nine people were shot in Atlanta at what are being referred to as “massage parlors;” eight of these people were shot fatally. Six of them were Asian women. ...more

Blog

March 18, 2021•5 min read

A New Course

As the Education Director for Healwell, I spend a lot of time in gratitude... Today, I want to talk to the students. ...more

Blog

January 12, 2021•6 min read

Show Up with Healwell

Healwell is now a C-TAC member and we’re really looking forward to attending the upcoming annual C-TAC Summit: Improving Lives by Facing Systemic Injustice, October 28-30, 2020. ...more

Blog

September 14, 2020•3 min read

The Time Has Come

As many of you know, Healwell recently ended its affiliation with Amazon’s “Smile” program. We have heard from some of you and we are deeply sorry that our message did not land as we intended. ...more

Blog

August 28, 2020•4 min read

Being Vulnerable

When I began my training in palliative and end-of-life care, I watched peers laugh and roll their eyes about the inevitable question, “How can you do that kind of work?” ...more

Blog

August 17, 2020•3 min read

Massage Isn't Normal

Wednesday morning I woke up feeling off, just a little tired. It was easy to think I just didn’t have enough sleep. ...more

Blog

July 23, 2020•3 min read

Wanna Help Healwell Get a Seat at the Table?

Do you know about C-TAC? Chances are good that you don’t. ...more

Blog

July 10, 2020•2 min read

Happy-ish Anniversary, Healwell

Healwell turns 10 this week. It’s an anniversary that is much sadder than I would have envisioned... ...more

Blog

June 11, 2020•8 min read

We Are Not Exempt

In the time since early March, we have been brought face-to-face with two serious diseases. One, COVID-19, is spread through droplets. The other, racism, is spread through ignorance and fear. ...more

Blog

June 08, 2020•9 min read

New Guidelines Are Not Too Shabby

FSMTB convened a task force a few weeks ago to put their giant-sized brains together to outline some real guidelines for massage therapists practicing in a variety of settings for safe practice during... ...more

Blog

May 21, 2020•6 min read

An Open Letter to Massage Therapy Consumers

I have been a massage therapist since 2005. If, in pre-COVID-19 times, you were a massage therapy consumer, thank you. ...more

Blog

May 15, 2020•4 min read

Am I covered? Massage therapy, insurance and COVID-19

At Healwell, we have gotten a number of questions from therapists all over the US asking if their liability insurance "covers" them in the event that they get COVID-19 or one of their clients gets COV... ...more

Blog

May 11, 2020•4 min read

The Hangover

It’s hard to hold the hot potato, friends. At Healwell, we expect to continue to do it for a while longer. ...more

Blog

May 10, 2020•6 min read

Worst. Game. Ever.

If another AMTA chapter president calls or emails me for advice and love, I’m going to reach out to National for alimony. ...more

Blog

May 04, 2020•8 min read

Back to Practice

Healwell has been watching our profession divide along the same rancorous political lines as our country. It doesn't have to do that. ...more

Blog

April 24, 2020•4 min read

Your governor is not a massage therapist.

Hello, my massage therapist friends. This is so, so hard. ...more

Blog

April 21, 2020•2 min read

Comfort and Safety

Man, I miss my clients. I hope they miss me. The people I touch are a huge part of my life and even of who I am. ...more

Blog

March 23, 2020•5 min read

Last Call: You Actually Do Have to Go Home. You Can't Stay Here.

Hello, my dearest fellow humans. This is quite a situation in which we find ourselves, isn’t it? ...more

Blog

March 18, 2020•3 min read

I Don't Care About Your Modalities

I am an educated professional. I worked hard to get my license, and I seek out quality continuing education every year... ...more

Blog

December 10, 2019•4 min read

Your Hands Are Great. Who Cares?

“Hands are pretty damn good…and? We [massage therapists] need to be more than that for people.” ...more

Blog

June 17, 2019•2 min read

The Way Forward is Together - Part One

A bill has been introduced in Maine, HB 0255, “An Act To Define Licensed Massage Therapists as Health Care Practitioners...” ...more

Blog

February 14, 2019•4 min read

Making Sausages: Behind the Scenes at the ICM

This month I am embarking on a new and slightly terrifying adventure — I am hosting Healwell’s new webinar series, the Interdisciplinary Clan of Mystery. ...more

Blog

September 16, 2018•3 min read