gentle touch for grief.
We help compassionate massage therapists feel skilled, confident and prepared to serve grievers.
We’re proud to be the first school dedicated to Grief Massage, created by the first-ever Grief Massage practitioner and teacher.
We offer comprehensive training on a wide range of topics including: Grief Massage techniques, cultural aspects of grief & loss, emotional release, and scope of practice. Our training programs meet you where you are and offer multiple options and formats: fully online (40 CE total training bundle), Zoom options (15 CE or 40 CE trainings) and live in-person (15 CE or 40 CE trainings).
We work with:
-brand new massage therapists
-very experienced bodyworkers
-mobile massage professionals
-independent practitioners
-massage clinic therapists
and more!
Many of our Grief Massage students already offer related services like end-of-life massage, hospice massage and oncology massage.
Beginners are welcome too! What all our learners have in common is a desire to feel skilled, confident and prepared when offering touch to grieving people.
We welcome current massage therapy students as they prepare to enter our field.
“you can rely on us for a solid, detailed, well-researched step-by-step Grief Massage education.”
Education matters.
we can help if you are:
-curious about Grief Massage after experiencing a loss of your own
-feeling overwhelmed after an experience with a grieving massage client
-feeling inspired after an experience with a grieving massage client
-fed up with the grief-denial that runs rampant in our culture
-interested in new options for using gentle touch
-eager to help create a kinder, gentler world
Grief Massage is unique and different.
we teach A Cultural grief Perspective
At IGM, we take the time to thoroughly educate massage therapists on grief & loss and cultural grief-phobia/death denial. We understand that learning a particular sequence and practicing certain techniques is not enough to prepare massage therapists for working with grieving clients.
A cultural perspective (one that acknowledges rampant grief-shaming, grief-avoidance and death denial in modern life) is necessary for Grief Massage practitioners to respond sensitively to clients.
we teach Holding Space Instead of “Fixing”grief
Here at IGM, we also train students on the importance of witnessing (not “fixing”) grief. We help massage therapists learn to hold space, trust the moment, and “just be” with a client. There’s a lot more to Grief Massage than a simple list of techniques or a particular bodywork sequence.
The good news: becoming more grief literate can help you be a much more effective Grief Massage practitioner (as well as an overall more sensitive, empathetic and compassionate human).
Grief Massage asks us to create and hold safe space. We prepare you to do so, while also providing the practical information you expect from any massage therapy continuing education course.
You can start out (and learn a lot) by reading our free general tips and insights. And, when you feel ready to really start specializing in this work, you can rely on us for a solid, detailed, well-researched, step-by-step Grief Massage education.
“Grief Massage is a specialized form of gentle massage that utilizes therapeutic presence, touch and felt safety to support grievers.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you offer CE?
Yes! The Institute for Grief Massage Inc is an Approved Provider through the NCBTMB (#521). You can earn CE for taking our online “The Joy of Grief Massage” classes, as well as our live webinar Zoom and in-person classes.
40 CE online self-paced bundle: 5 recorded Grief Massage training courses priced accessibly at $395. More information here. Courses can be purchased individually for $199 each.
15 CE 2-day Zoom training: Weekend trainings available on an ongoing basis. Next available is 10/26 and 10/27. More information here.
15 CE 5 week Zoom training: This series meets once per week for 5 weeks. Each class meeting is 3 hours/3 CE. Next available will be in 2025.
15 CE live in-person training: Weekend live in-person trainings available on an ongoing basis. Next available will be in 2025.
40 CE Zoom training series: This series meets once per month for 5 months. Each class meeting is 8 hours. More information here.
40 CE live in-person training series: This series meets in-person for two weekends (Saturday and Sunday) and one Saturday (8 hours each day). Next available will be in 2025.
SCHOLARSHIPS
In 2021 we began offering BIPOC scholarships to support students who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). At IGM, we are committed to making Grief Massage accessible to all and we want to make Grief Massage training available in ways that support historically marginalized communities. We currently continue to offer this scholarship on a quarterly basis - one fully online course (40 CE) and group mentorship for each recipient.
There is no formal application required but recipients must be licensed massage therapists and have a desire to serve grievers. We ask scholarships recipients to pay it forward by donating a number of Grief Massage sessions in their community upon completion of the program. Please email: aimeetaylor@griefmassage.org to learn more about availability of BIPOC scholarships.
Are you holding live classes?
Our next live 15 CE class (2 day) and our 40 CE (two weekends plus an additional Saturday) will be held in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2025. Exact dates and location TBD.
Live class registration package will include several group Zoom mentoring sessions as well.
Follow us on Instagram (@theinstituteforgriefmassage) or Facebook (@theinstituteforgriefmassage) for alerts when the live class registration period opens.
What are your qualifications to teach Grief Massage?
Aimee has personal, professional and academic qualifications to teach Grief Massage. First and foremost, she is a human who has experienced profound loss. The sudden death of her brother in 2005 and the suicide death of her mother in 2009 initiated her onto a very personal path of grief and healing.
As a professional, she has been licensed to provide massage and bodywork since 2007 and began offering Grief Massage from the very start of her career. She created and named the Grief Massage modality, pioneered the first Massage Therapy Foundation Community Service Grant projects in Grief Massage, and created the first NCBTMB approved Grief Massage training course.
Aimee is also trained in counseling and is licensed to provide therapy. She specializes in grief counseling and often draws on her training as a counselor to inform her approach to teaching Grief Massage. Additionally, she published a popular article about Grief Massage in Massage & Bodywork magazine in 2017.
Do I really need special training to offer Grief Massage?
Yes, to specialize in this work, training is strongly recommended.
While the basic skills you acquired in massage school (and your personal experiences/self-study of grief & loss) can inform situations that arise spontaneously, specialized Grief Massage training is vital if you plan to actively encourage grieving clients to seek out massage therapy.
Seeking out grieving clients entails a great deal of responsibility.
It is important to be prepared to create a truly safe space, to explain how and why touch can be beneficial in grief, to set gentle boundaries and explain the massage therapy scope of practice, to know when to make referrals to other professionals, and to feel prepared to handle emotional release.
When you train in Grief Massage, you will also take a deep dive into cultural aspects of grief that often affect Grief Massage clients. This matters because it’s important to be aware of the unique cultural stressors grievers face, and it’s vital to learn how to communicate with Grief Massage clients in ways that do not perpetuate cultural grief-phobia or death denial.
Upon completion of any of our full trainings, Grief Massage practitioners can describe themselves as “Grief Massage trained” or may state that they have “Completed 15 hours of Grief Massage training/continuing education” or “40 hours of Grief Massage training/continuing education” or “Received training through The Institute for Grief Massage Inc”. We do not encourage the use of the terms “certified” or “certification” as a true certification requires an outside 3rd party organization to test, certify and retest/recertify every few years. While many in the field of massage therapy use the terms “certified” or “certification” to describe continuing education trainings, it is actually incorrect to do so. We encourage our learners to avoid using the terms “certified” or “certification” to describe the continuing education training we offer.
Is Grief Massage a form of counseling?
No, Grief Massage is not a form of counseling. Grief Massage is a specialized form of gentle massage that utilizes therapeutic presence, touch, and felt safety to support grievers. Many grieving clients enjoy silence during sessions.
While a client may choose to share their personal grief experience with a Grief Massage practitioner, the practitioner must never explore, process, or offer advice.
As a dually trained massage therapist and counselor, Aimee is uniquely qualified to help massage therapists learn about the boundaries, scope of practice distinctions, and communication skills needed to maintain the massage therapy scope of practice in a Grief Massage setting.
“we are creating a kinder, gentler world for grievers, through massage therapy.”
Want to learn more about IGM?
how we got started
In 2007, our founder Aimee graduated from massage school and felt a strong call to serve grieving people.
She created the Grief Massage modality, began training others through Community Service Grants from The Massage Therapy Foundation and gained NCBTMB approval for the first-ever Grief Massage training course in 2014.
IGM exists to make Grief Massage mainstream by offering high quality education and support to massage therapists. We believe that a solid, detailed, well-researched, step-by-step Grief Massage education is vital for practitioners who want to specialize in this work.
watch Aimee’s interview
Massage therapist and integrative health student Jean Rosecrans interviewed Aimee about IGM and Grief Massage as part of a capstone project. Watch the interview by clicking here to visit our Youtube channel.
Aimee was interviewed about Grief Massage in late 2023 by Taj and TJ Jackson of the DeeDee Jackson’s “Power of Love” show. Watch the interview by clicking here.
Aimee wrote a well-received article about Grief Massage and her experience leading two Massage Therapy Foundation “Community Service Grant” projects centered on Grief Massage. Read the article from ABMP’s Massage & Bodywork magazine here.
Grief Massage Summit
In October 2024, we created the 1st ever Grief Massage Summit! You are invited to participate by watching the recorded presentations of 5 experts in the field of Grief Massage as they share their personal tips and practices for self-care. Free lifetime access to the summit will be provided via a link that allows you to register. Simply join our email list here to gain access!