Massage Therapy with Children
When I was finishing Massage School I chose to do my final research paper on children and massage.
I had been working as a children's counselor and play therapist and often used "projective drawings" to elicit thoughts, feelings and data from young children. Using this technique, counselors have the child draw pictures of themselves and their family. Then we interpret the drawings. I thought to myself, "what if I used that technique with kids before and after a massage, to see if the drawings reveal any significant change".
I had kids in my life at the time, as I was a mom myself, and several parents agreed to let me try. I did one massage per child.
Before the massage I simply gave them a blank piece of paper, a felt tip pen, and asked them to draw a picture of a person or an animal or a plant or tree. I chose these because they all have a head, a trunk or mid section and roots or legs. After the massage I gave them a clean piece of paper and the same directions. The results were dramatic.
I continued to do massage on kids occasionally, in my practice, and one child in particular, stood out. He was ten. He had ADHD and the meds were starting to cause Tourette's. His parents tried so hard to keep him structured and help him with all his issues. I asked them if they'd bring him for massage in exchange for me using the drawings for research and teaching. .
After three months of weekly massage, on Sunday mornings, the child's teacher said to parents, "I don't know what you're doing but keep it up. He's reading, and he's sitting still and concentrating , when that's required !" Parents reported to me that they took him to a dinner theater and it was the first time they could go anywhere as a family , with him being able to sit through the whole thing.
Other children gave me drawings that were dramatic as well. Now, I must say that , even though I was a children's clinical counselor I was very careful to use the massage singularly. I didn't talk to the kids about their feelings or try to influence them in any way. I simply wanted to see the effects of massage, purely, without any other modalities used.
In 1997 I wrote up my research and submitted a paper to the New York Society of Medical Massage Therapists. essay contest. They gave me one of three top prizes and published my paper. Since then, I have taught the "projective drawings" technique in continuing education workshops and classes for professionals, both in counseling and in body work.
I have an old flier I created about this work and you can email me for a copy. I'm working on an update. In the flier I greatly reduce the children's drawings, but you get the gist.
If you would like to consider massage for your child, contact me for a free consultation. When I do massage with minors, there must be a parent in the room, and I require consent of both parents to initiate treatment.
FYI There is a foundation devoted to children and massage - check it out if you're interested. LiddleKidz.org
phyllisnasta@yahoo.com 520 203-4968
Contact me if you think massage might help. 520 203-4969 text or call
I also teach parents how to massage their kids by giving great back rubs and foot rubs.
I have a flier that shows some of the drawings I've had kids do before and after a massage, illustrating the benefits. If you would like to see it, email me at phyllisnasta@yahoo.com I haven't figured out how to load it to this website yet.
One of the sets of pictures on the flyer was done by a ten year old who had been diagnosed with ADHD, had learning disabilities, and was starting to show Tourettes. After three months of weekly massage, his teacher told his parents " I don't know what you're doing, but keep it up. He's reading, and paying attention". The parents told me that they were able to take him to a dinner theater and he sat through the whole thing, a first for their family. None of this means that it would benefit every child that dramatically, but relaxation can contribute to children coping with any stressor ..
A free initial consultation is available to see if massage might be a good option for your child. If you decide to have the child get some massage sessions, both parents' consent is required, and one parent must be in the room for the massage.
