Alleviate Chronic Pain with Dialoguing – By Patrick Lee Ingrassia, LMT.
In your practice, you’ve probably encountered clients with stubborn, chronic pain. There’s no medical explanation for this kind of pain, but it’s resistant to your massage techniques. At this point, it’s gone beyond a physical level, to a mind and body level. How do you alleviate pain like this? There’s a powerful technique you can add to your toolbox, known as dialoguing.
How does dialoguing work? You allow the pain inside the client’s body to have a voice, and then you facilitate the conversation between the client’s body and the client’s mind. The client speaks directly to that place inside his or her body, and actually takes an active role in the healing process.
There are two styles of dialoguing you can begin applying in your practice today. The first style, giving the pain a voice, is best suited for audio and language oriented clients. The second technique is more visual and emotional, and is great for clients whose pain may have been initially caused by emotional trauma.
To use the voice technique, instruct the client to relax while you place your hand on the affected area. This will draw the client’s focus onto that area. Then ask your client, “If this area, where my hand is, had a voice, what would it say to you?” If your client seems hesitant, encourage him or her to say whatever comes to mind spontaneously. Then ask, “What would you like to say back to this place within your body?” As you create a dialogue, back and forth, between the client and this area of pain, you also create a space for healing.
For clients who are more visually inclined, you can actually journey to the place of pain together. Starting again with some relaxation and deep breathing, you can use the hand technique to draw the client’s focus to the painful area. Your dialogue might go something like this: “Just imagine you were in this place of discomfort, actually inside that space. Are you willing to go there? Ok, now are you there? Imagine, if you’re in this space, what do you see?”
As the client starts to open up, you can look for more details. “Can you describe this area? Tell me about it.” Perhaps your client sees a room, and when you look for more details, it’s the client’s childhood bedroom. As more details come out, the client gets deeper into where the trauma might have occurred, and when. It’s important to remember, however, that this is not a counseling technique. Rather, you’re opening a space for the client to make his or her own exploration.
For both techniques, paraphrase back what the client says to you without offering any advice or embellishment. As soon as you tell someone about his or her pain, it shuts the door on the space you’re trying to create. Even stating that something similar has happened to you, however well-intentioned, is actually a form of invalidation. This isn’t that type of conversation. Instead, keep opening the door to allow the client to go deeper into his or her own healing process.
As you try these techniques with your clients, continue checking on the pain level that he or she is experiencing, as given on a scale of one to ten. See if it’s going down as you work. Sometimes the pain just dissipates “miraculously”. These techniques can also be used in tandem—visualizing and giving the pain a voice—for a deeper healing space.
This is just a taste of dialoguing—if you’d like to learn more about it, there are many excellent workshops and books available. Try your favorite search engine to find some additional resources.
About the Author:
Patrick Lee Ingrassia, LMT, is a world-renowned massage therapist, teacher, and innovator, as well as the founder of the Nayada Institute of Massage. Patrick graduated from the Florida School of Massage, and went on to earn his Thai Massage Teacher Certification from the Institute of Thai Massage in Chiang Mai, Thailand, after studying extensively with Master Chongkol Setthakorn. He has been teaching massage in the United States, Canada, Costa Rica, and Mexico for over 15 years.
Patrick invented the BodySaver Method, a unique modality that allows massage therapists to extend their careers and protect their bodies while delivering effective massage at any pressure. He is a NYS Licensed Massage Therapist, Kripalu Certified Bodyworker, Certified Personal Trainer, and Yoga teacher. Emphasizing experiential training, Patrick teaches creative, practical methods that students can put to use immediately to enhance their massage careers.
Patrick L. Ingrassia is approved by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB) as a continuing education Approved Provider and is also sponsored by the NCBTMB to teach New York LMTs continuing education that is accepted by the state of New York for license renewal.
Please feel free to contact Nayada by telephone at (716) 217-0577, or email at info@NayadaUSA.com. We look forward to speaking with you!