The Rub: a podcast about massage therapy
Join Healwell in examining and bringing context to the world of massage therapy beyond the table. We have ideas. We have opinions. We want change, and that will only come with an understanding of who and what massage therapy truly is. A variety of topics are up for grabs: history, philosophy, development, and all the other shiny things that fascinate us. Healwell is a non-profit based out of the Washington DC area. Check us out at www.healwell.org
Episodes
The next two articles will only be available for our Substack members, and will not be posted to this podcast. To subscribe to the Substack and receive the articles and audio to your email, click here.
I spend many of my days lost in thought. It isn’t unusual for me to lose track of a conversation because a stray idea occurred to me.
Sometimes I get overwhelmed when I read a paper or a book or listen to conversations...
There are many massage therapists who have worked incredibly hard to open doors in clinical settings. We have spent decades building trust, demonstrating value, and carving out space for our work in environments that didn’t initially (and often still don’t) understand or welcome us as practitioners of a uniquely valuable discipline. That pioneering work has created real impact for patients and l...
Read the original article here
There’s no way for the associations to know our wishes if we don’t say them out loud. If we want the power to come from the bottom of the pyramid, we have to accept responsibility and ownership of that power. That doesn’t mean saying “I demand you fix my problem” it means saying “I need this specific thing from you in order to fix this problem.”
Links:
What exactly do we mean when we call ourselves “healthcare providers”?
“Healthcare provider” does not mean the same thing everywhere. Depending on the state, it might mean defined scope and enforceable accountability. It could relate to insurance participation. Maybe it means elevated liability standards.
Worst case, it might mean mostly vibes.
These variations aren’t trivial. Once the label of “healthcare provider” or...
Why we don’t need to get along to get along.
Not all problems are created equal, and the methods that will solve one kind are very different from what you need to solve the other. Oftentimes problems are a combination of simple, complicated, or complex; or vacillate between the distinctions with time. Thinking about the features of each can help us decide how to approach them.
This article is a companion to this one w...
It’s Time to Stop Going to Aunt Tricia’s
This article is a companion to this one written by Corey. These articles represent each author's independent perspective, and were written without our usual collaborative input. We are super excited about them.
Every technical debate in massage therapy is displacement activity.
Every. Single. One.
We argue about measurement systems (clock hours vs. credit hours), terminolog...
Recently several of Corey's projects have come across the same stumbling block: a lot of people believe many skills can’t be taught. This has come up in my poking around the topics of therapeutic relationships, compassion, supervision, writing, and emotional labor.
In each of these areas, there is a pervasive fallacy that the reason a person is good at a skill is the result of a mystical innate genius. Some je ...
What's the plan for The Rub and Healwell in 2026?
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We’ve all felt the frustration. How can we make therapeutic massage accessible? On top of that, how can we do that while maintaining professional value and sustainability? Many well-intentioned practitioners turn to volunteerism as a solution, offering free services at community events, for hospital staff, at health fairs, and just about anywhere else we’re invited.
While this impulse comes...
Welcome to Practice-Based Research Networks (PBRNs); a simple idea with big potential!
The Massage Therapy Foundation is building MassageNet, the largest (and only) international PBRN dedicated specifically to therapeutic massage.
And they’re building it for you.
Subscribe to our Substack: "More Than Hands"
Send us an email: podcast@healwell.org
Leave us a voice messag...
Emotional labor is work that involves managing your and other people’s emotions. Emotion management (also known as emotion work) is how you actively shape and direct your feelings. Emotion management happens internally and is a private activity. It becomes emotional labor when that private activity becomes public work.
This distinction matters.
Subscribe to our Substack: "Mo...
“Everyone who is engaging with humans—as a teacher, a psychotherapist, as a bodyworker—should be aware of the state of the other,” Porges explained.
It’s not dismissive to say this. It’s foundational. Take a moment to consider how often you truly do this in your work. I’m not talking about structural or postural assessment, at least not in the way that many manual therapists typically do. I’m t...
The massage therapy profession has problems. We have so many problems, those problems have bred and now have enough problematic offspring to hold a problematic family reunion.
You’re probably reading our Substack because you see these problems and you want to know how to fix them. You’ve probably thought of some plans yourself. How many times have we all had conversations that start with “Well, ...
The Work We Do But Won’t Name
Scholars who study labor have a term for work that involves “particularized knowledge and sustained personal attention.” They call it intimate labor. According to scholar Viviana Zelizer’s framework, this work includes things like shared secrets, bodily information, awareness of personal vulnerability, interpersonal rituals, and private languages.
Read that list agai...
The massage therapy landscape is shifting with regulatory changes and developments across states, including the Interstate Massage Compact passing in five states and ongoing advancements in state licensing requirements. Recent months have seen significant changes including Vermont's increased registration fees, Idaho's elimination of continuing education requirements, and new regulations addressing human t...
Regulation might sound like the least exciting topic in massage therapy, but it's actually the battleground where our professional identity and future are being decided.
Massage therapy regulation is far more than bureaucratic red tape; it's a dynamic system that establishes professional standards, protects the public, and helps define who controls the massage profession's territory. We break down the ...
Read our blog post for more in-depth information on why CAMTC should be sunsetted.
California is one of only five states without massage therapy licensing, operating instead under a questionable "voluntary certification" system run by the California Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC). This system requires minimal education, no continuing education, and no examination, while creating barriers for therapist mobi...
Healwell's Glossary of the Massage Therapy Profession
New Healwell Class: Cultural Competency for Bodyworkers and Healthcare Providers
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State and National News 2:13
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Suicide hotline: call or text 988
International Suicide Hotlines
Register for the Community Processing Event on February 25th
Corey Rivera and Cal Cates address the alarming suicide rates among massage therapists by exploring underlying risk factors, including perfectionism, isolation, and occupational stress. By recognizing these nuances, the conversation encourages community engagement and accountability to prom...
The episode discusses the hidden mental health crisis within the massage therapy profession, spotlighting alarming suicide rates and the pressing need for open dialogue and community support. By exploring the complexity of suicidal ideation and the current model we use to understand suicide, we aim to equip listeners with tools to recognize and address these critical issues.
Suicide hotline: call or text 98...
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