In release, she is letting go of some of the abuse and actively reclaiming her life. If you are uncomfortable working with an abuse survivor, make a referral. You can unwittingly sabotage your client if you are not ready to be her massage therapist. Unless you are trained as a mental health professional, you should not attempt to be a psychotherapist for a person who experienced childhood abuse. If you intend to specialize in working with clients with histories of childhood abuse, you should have additional training in this area, be under supervision, and have done your own psychotherapy.
Massage has a key role to play in the recovery of some survivors of childhood abuse.
Many are too afraid to come to a massage therapist, but some reach out. Once you understand the basic principles you need to know to work with these clients, you have the opportunity to help them learn that it can be safe to receive touch from another person. The strokes and modalities you use are not as important as your awareness and your presence. This work is not easy, but it can be very rewarding. Copyright 1999 by Enterprise Publishing.