Four of our ThinkTree members tell us about the best tools they have added to their toolboxes and why…
Christine Ringrose is an Advanced Clinical & Sports massage therapist, based near Woodbridge in Suffolk.
What was the best and most useful upskilling you ever did and why? (Industry skill, soft skill, other)
I felt I needed to upskill and develop myself to address the gaps I felt I was missing in my practice which would enhance the therapies I was already offering
to my clients and I felt that there were two skills I wanted to learn more about which would be beneficial and really make a difference.
I upskilled to become an expert in Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) disorders. I wanted the knowledge and skill how to help clients who were complaining of jaw aches, locked jaws, facial pain, and grinding issues when they came to me for other treatments. They were consulting with experts and they felt that they were not getting anywhere and asked me to help.
I took the necessary steps, trained as a TMJ therapist to diploma level, fully qualified, certificated TMJ practitioner, and I offer my clients the help and support they need with TMJ disorders.
The second was scar work, women who have experienced breast cancer surgery. I already held certificates in scar work, and oncology, but knew I wanted to upskill further in this area and become an expert in helping women who have gone through breast cancer surgery, chemo, radiotherapy, working on their scars, women experiencing restricted movement, being able to listen to them and their experiences. I enrolled in a course to upskill to understand more about scar tissue and what happens to women who go through breast cancer surgery, losing a breast or both, or when they experience reconstruction, the implications cancer has on a woman’s mind, body, and the emotional ups, and downs that a woman goes through.
What difference did it make to you?
Taking the TMJ course, passing exams to diploma level to become a TMJ practitioner, the upskill in learning this therapy has made such a difference in the way I treat my clients because now I look at client differently when they walk into my clinic and when they explain that their jaw hurts or their lower back, I do a full-body assessment to ascertain if the body is out of alignment which often it is and the jaw will affect the sacrum and vice versa and after treating the jaw, to treating the sacrum, their pain subsides in both areas.
Working with women who have had breast cancer, upskilling to working on their scars, whether it is on the breast, or if they have had Diep flap surgery, makes such a difference to how the scar reacts to being worked on and how integrated a woman feels once I have done the treatment.
What made a difference?
The difference I have made by upskilling two totally different modalities has been very beneficial as it has made such a difference to my practice, gaining qualifications, adding to my knowledge, acquiring techniques to help my clients improve their lives and seeing a client’s life improve is all about why I wanted to upskill.
Even after the first TMJ treatment starts to make a difference to a client’s life. I have assisted in helping clients to stop grinding their teeth together, to not wearing down their teeth or to need a mouth guard at night. For clients who suffer from trigeminal nerve pain, I have helped the pain to ease and they have found they have not needed their morphine medication as much to even not taking it for a few days to even stopping it as they have felt much better.
The difference was enrolling on the course to upskill my knowledge of my scar work to improve my scar work techniques for women who have had breast cancer making a difference to how they feel about their scar (s) as it softens. When movement is an issue and I help them their range of movement to see their smiles as they improve, but also I love listening to how they feel about cancer and their experiences, it’s all part of the healing process.
Maybe also what was the oddest or most interesting and why?
I think the oddest for me and most interesting is thinking that I would be working in someone’s mouth to help relieve their soft tissues and their discomfort I never thought at the time I learned the techniques and skills I would see some wonderful smiles on clients’ faces after treatment.
What value have you seen upskilling make in the lives of others?
Upskill training has a role to play, as it is about personal development, personal growth and is very gratifying in your business to provide a continual improvement which you pass on the knowledge to your clients and seeing your clients improve and get better.
What are particularly important skills that you notice people would benefit from?
I feel people need to find their own path in life and what skills they would need to upskill to make either their life fulfilled or what their clients need.
We all need skills in thinking for ourselves and what are our key values, our purpose in life, or our concept of what kind of career we want. Being adaptable to change always forward thinking and how we take our business forward, having excellent communication skills and the initiative, and the motivation to succeed.
Dean Haspey, Specialising in all aspects of soft tissue therapy and neurological functioning. Dean is a member of numerous professional bodies across many modalities, amongst which as a Fellow of the Sports Therapy Organisation, Certified International Practitioner of QINOpractic Medicine and Senior Associate Member of the Royal Society of Medicine.
What was the best and most useful upskilling you ever did and why? (Industry skill, soft skill, other)
Each skill, new technique or modality became the best upskilling. This was because each in their own right became the new best skill I had learned, adding to the ‘toolkit’ and then the need to know and understand the next gap or missing link meant finding another methodology or paradigm to resolve it.
What difference did it make to you?
The continuous questioning to fill gaps in knowledge and need to always succeed in finding the answer to help a client/ patient resolve their issue(s) is paramount to me.
This is because my need is to ensure that the person that comes to clinic receives the betterment they are entrusting me with.
Maybe also what was the oddest or most interesting and why?
At the time, learning how to use the brain and its neurology/ energy to change function and the physical with mind, touch and functional movement was a revelation and a quantum leap from the hands on therapies first learnt.
What value have you seen upskilling make in the lives of others?
Upskilling continually and never accepting the known allows me to challenge my expertise and skills so I then never become complacent, just accepting a set standard or mediocrity in treatment. That in turn means I have the greatest opportunity to provide the best outcome and satisfaction for my patient.
What are particularly important skills that you notice people would benefit from?
The most important skill is to realise that you are only as good as your last skills and there is always another ‘tool’ or piece of knowledge to find and then find it! Researching, training with the best in their realm of expertise, webinars, all quality CPD, videos and cross-reading astride what may be differing subjects often provides me with links, interrelationships and associations to allow me to holistically, ‘whole-body’ treat.
Based in Lincoln, Dean’s passion and dedication to understanding the human form, its amazing capacity and capability flourished from a young age, curious and intrigued as to how it worked and moved. An interest that developed from the natural world, dance, sports, martial arts to the study of human medicine, the brain and
neurological functioning. The need and drive to always know more and to challenge and understand the unexplained has led to Dean’s need to never stop studying and researching, which he has done with some of the leading authorities in their field.
Dhanu Khara, Dhanu specialises in stress management and is based in West London. She is passionate about holistic and preventative healthcare. Growing up with an Ayurvedic way of life, she is fascinated with the dynamics of a positive mind and the body’s ability to heal itself. Her ‘toolkit’ includes Indian Head massage, Hot stone massage, Aromatherapy, Reflexology, Healthy Diet and Nutrition, Well-being/Stress Management Advice, Reiki, Coaching, EFT and NLP, Hopi Ear candling, product and perfume making, Baby Massage and Movement Teaching.
What was the best and most useful upskilling you ever did and why?
The best thing I ever learnt was aromatherapy and I have used it to improve the quality of life for clients, my family and myself.
What value have you seen upskilling make in the lives of others?
For other people I have seen it both improve their quality of life and their finances.
What are particularly important skills that you notice people would benefit from?
Actually, the skills I notice people would benefit from focus around self-improvement and management skills rather than specific tools.
John Voyo, Based in South East London, John has been a massage therapist for 12 years, first as a sole trader, he now runs VOYO™ Massage.
A former highly stressed retail manager, John now helps others address their stress issues, also preventative and remedial massages. His key to success is having a client first approach in all he does.
Your therapy focus…
Massage. There are many styles of massage, for available for us to learn, they all become “tools in our toolbox”. Even during consultation with a client I find myself thinking which strokes and techniques or “tools” appropriate to the client’s needs and requirements. These can change as the treatment proceeds.
What was the best and most useful upskilling you ever did and why? (Industry skill, soft skill, other)
Hands free massage courses have provided me with the most useful source of up skilling, to date across my 12 years as a practitioner. They provide me with new techniques and approaches to traditional solutions becoming a fusion and over the years, experience and practice have taught me to develop my own variants.
What difference did it make to you?
The diversity allows me longevity to my chosen career that I may not get due to injury, predominantly muscular skeletal injuries, whist giving the client the treatment they requested.
It has allowed me to offer a broader range of treatments, to my clients, and use to help myself, after all if I am not the healthiest I can be, I can’t offer the best service to those that I help
What value have you seen upskilling make in the lives of others?
In my opinion upskilling is key to growth, within any facet of the wellbeing industry and for personal growth too. It allows you to expand your knowledge and see it get used to help the clients we treat and for our own well-being.
What are particularly important skills that you notice people would benefit from?
Just to use what you have been taught and when you’re comfortable to use that knowledge, to adapt and improve upon the service you offer