A warm, comfortable atmosphere and peaceful, clear state of mind is important to foster learning. Photo by Emily Bauman on Unsplash
Mentoring
Mentoring is a relationship focused on your learning + your journey as a Grief Massage therapist. A mentoring session is a safe place to share your experiences + express your thoughts and feelings about what you are learning and how you are growing!
Bring your challenges
These thoughts and feelings will likely include your doubts, frustrations + challenges as you begin putting yourself out in the world as a new Grief Massage therapist and begin putting your training into action. For example, you may appreciate support around:
-answering common questions such as “how is Grief Massage different from regular massage?”
-engaging with potential Grief Massage clients
-working to build referral partnerships with local counselors and healthcare providers
-providing Grief Massage to your first clients
-developing processes in your Grief Massage practice
Bring your wins
Mentoring sessions are also a warm, supportive confidential atmosphere for celebrating + validating your successes, achievements and “aha” moments along the journey, For example, you may benefit from sharing:
-experiences with Grief Massage clients (please note that clients will need to sign a consent for you to discuss their sessions in mentorship).
-marketing breakthroughs
-taking worthy risks (such as signing up for a health fair or hosting a talk about Grief Massage)
-mindset shifts that bring greater clarity + confidence
-insights about your calling + how you want to see your Grief Massage practice grow
Why mentorship matters for Grief Massage
Research in other fields shows that training + mentorship yields greater results than training alone.
I believe that mentorship can be especially powerful in a Grief Massage context. While working with grief can be deeply satisfying on a soul/calling level - it can also be lonely at times.
We still live in a culture where grief is commonly treated as a “negative” emotion or taboo topic.
While you go against the grain of cultural grief messages by training in/providing Grief Massage, mentoring can be a source of warm, grounded support for you.
The mentoring relationship can be fertile soil for the seed of your calling to crack open and help you grow into the Grief Massage therapist you want to be.
I will hold space for:
-discussing the training lessons + how they uniquely apply to you and your practice
-sharing personal experiences from my own Grief Massage journey (as they apply to you)
-listening fully to your fears and challenges
-validating your excitement and wins (and assist you in creating processes + strategies based on what works for you)
-providing expert guidance
-collaborating with you to reach your goals
My qualifications as a mentor
I was just like you in at least one important way when I graduated from massage school.
I wanted to serve grievers through touch.
At the time, training and information about grief and massage therapy was very limited (almost nonexistent) so I forged a path based on personal experience, education from other fields (I earned a BA in Psychology and MA in Counseling along the way), and paying attention to my own calling.
I’ve been honored to be the recipient of Massage Therapy Foundation grants for Grief Massage (in partnership with a Charlotte based nonprofit). to write a well received article about Grief Massage for the ABMP Massage & Bodywork magazine, to develop one of the first NCBTMB approved Grief Massage training programs, to work with many grieving massage clients, and to train amazing massage therapists (from all over) in Grief Massage.
My training as a counselor is uniquely relevant to the mentoring process, as I have been trained in the art of listening.
While I will not provide mental health services or therapy in our mentoring sessions, I will bring all the skills I have used in the therapy room:
-presence
-reflecting you back to yourself
-goal setting
-asking insightful questions
-hearing what you are saying on both surface + deeper levels.
How it works
Zoom and online training programs will include mentoring sessions as of October 2023. The cost of mentoring sessions will automatically be added to tuition and the sessions will focus on 1:1 support for students as they work through the training and begin to implement the material.
Zoom trainings will include two 1:1 hour long Zoom mentoring sessions.
The complete 5 part online training (not yet open to students) will include 1:1 hour long Zoom mentoring sessions.
Additional mentoring sessions can be arranged as needed.
Curious about mentoring and how it can support you? Reach out to me today for a friendly 15 minute Zoom chat: aimeetaylor@griefmassage.org