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Send us Fan Mail What if one of the most powerful clinical tools you have isn't a technique — it's what you say? In this episode, Jamie closes out the Hobfoll's Five Essential Elements series with Element 5: the Promotion of Hope. And the focus is on something that's massively underestimated in our profession — reassurance. Drawing on a quote from Louis Gifford — *"Effective reassurance is a bloody good painkiller"* — Jamie breaks down the research on what reassurance actually is, how to deliver it well, and the common pitfalls that can make it backfire. You'll learn: The difference between Affective Reassurance and Cognitive Reassurance — and why you need both What to say (and what NOT to say) to patients dealing with fear, anxiety, and persistent pain 4 clinician themes from the research on why reassurance is a core clinical skill 8 practical strategies you can take into your very next appointment This one is the finale of the series — and it ties everything together with a callback to the story from Episode 5 that you won't want to miss. Want to go deeper on therapeutic movement in your practice? Grab the *Feared to Functional* course for just $37 — the entry point to the Fundamentals of Therapeutic Movement: 👉 https://go.themtdc.com/home-page-fearedtofunctional References:  Young A, French SD, Traeger AC, Ayre J, Hancock M, Jenkins HJ. Clinician experiences in providing reassurance for patients with low back pain in primary care: a qualitative study. Journal of Physiotherapy. 2025;71:48-56. doi:10.1016/j.jphys.2024.11.003Cheung L, Soundy A. The Impact of Reassurance on Musculoskeletal (MSK) Pain: A Qualitative Review. Behav Sci. 2021;11(11):150. doi:10.3390/bs11110150Braeuninger-Weimer K. Consultation-based Reassurance for Patients with Musculoskeletal Lower Back Pain Consulting Orthopaedic Spine Teams [PhD thesis]. Royal Holloway, University of London; 2019.Belton J, Birkinshaw H, Pincus T. Patient-centered consultations for persons with musculoskeletal conditions. Chiropractic & Manual Therapies. 2022;30:53. doi:10.1186/s12998-022-00466-wTraeger AC, O'Hagan ET, Cashin A, McAuley JH. Reassurance for patients with non-specific conditions - a user's guide. Braz J Phys Ther. 2017;21(1):1-6. doi:10.1016/j.bjpt.2016.12.007Wright MA, Wren AA, Somers TJ, et al. Pain Acceptance, Hope, and Optimism: Relationships to Pain and Adjustment in Patients With Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain. J Pain. 2011;12(11):1155-1162. doi:10.1016/j.jpain.2011.06.002 Support the show

Send us Fan Mail What if the most powerful thing you can do for a patient in chronic pain has nothing to do with your hands? In this episode, Jamie shares a story that changed the way he thinks about practice — a patient who had been living with chronic pain for 30 years, and what actually made the difference in her very first appointment. From there, Jamie dives into the fourth of Hobfoll's Five Essential Elements of trauma-informed care: the Promotion of Connectedness — and specifically, the therapeutic relationship. You'll learn: What patients actually value most in a therapeutic relationship (the answer might surprise you)The 8 core components of therapeutic alliance — and which ones matter most according to patients4 habits you can implement starting with your next appointment to build deeper connection and get better outcomesWhy the "soft skills" aren't soft at all — and what the research says about their impact on pain, function, and patient satisfaction This episode is a reminder that showing up, slowing down, and actually being present with the person in front of you is one of the most clinically powerful things you can do. Want a practical starting point for bringing trauma-informed care into your practice? Grab the free Trauma-Confident Therapist Starter Guide at https://go.themtdc.com/traumaconfident References:  Babatunde F, MacDermid J, MacIntyre N. Characteristics of therapeutic alliance in musculoskeletal physiotherapy and occupational therapy practice: a scoping review of the literature. BMC health services research. 2017 Dec;17(1):1-23Fuentes J, Armijo-Olivo S, Funabashi M, Miciak M, Dick B, Warren S, Rashiq S, Magee DJ, Gross DP. Enhanced therapeutic alliance modulates pain intensity and muscle pain sensitivity in patients with chronic low back pain: an experimental controlled study. Physical therapy. 2014 Apr 1;94(4):477-89.Hush JM, Cameron K, Mackey M. Patient satisfaction with musculoskeletal physical therapy care: a systematic review. Physical therapy. 2011 Jan 1;91(1):25-36.Frankel RM, Stein T. Getting the most out of the clinical encounter: the four habits model. Perm J. 1999 Dec 1;3(3):79-88. Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Most of us were trained to fix people. And it feels good when it works — the patient comes in hurting, they leave feeling better, and you did that. But here's the question: what happens between appointments? Are they getting better? Or are they just getting better at coming to see you? In this episode, Jamie dives into Element Three of Hobfoll's Five — the promotion of self-efficacy — and makes the case that the most powerful thing you can give a patient isn't a treatment at all. It's the belief that they can get through this on their own. You'll learn: What self-efficacy actually means — and why the second part of the definition is the part most clinicians forgetWhy positioning yourself as the fix can actually make persistent pain worse over timeHow to use movement as education — not just techniqueThe five conditions that need to be in place for movement education to actually shift something for a patientWhat pain neurotags are and how consistent movement experiences can change themWhy becoming less dependent on you is the best possible outcome for your patient*Plus: grab the free Trauma-Confident Therapist Starter Guide — CLICK HERE* 🎙️ Hit follow so you never miss an episode — and if this resonated, a quick review helps more therapists find this content. Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Most massage therapists think of calm as something they create with their hands. But what if the most powerful thing you brought into the treatment room had nothing to do with technique? In this episode, Jamie shares the story of a Navy veteran with PTSD whose wife noticed a transformation every time he came home from his appointments — before he noticed it himself. What happened in that room wasn't about the low back treatment. It was about the space Jamie created for him to be completely himself, without judgment. From there, Jamie breaks down Element Two of Hobfoll's Five — the promotion of calm — and why the language you use with your patients is doing more than you think. You'll learn: Why the tissue-in, pain-out model is incomplete — and what the biopsychosocial model actually changesThe three ways clinicians misapply the biopsychosocial model (and how to avoid them)What enactive care means and why it matters for how you show up in the roomHow to navigate uncertainty, shared decision making, and why no specific intervention works reliably across all people all the timeWhy your lived experience isn't separate from your clinical skill — in the right context, it *is* your clinical skill*Plus: grab the free Trauma-Confident Therapist Starter Guide — by clicking HERE* 🎙️ Hit follow so you never miss an episode — and if this resonated, a quick review goes a long way in helping other therapists find this content. Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Before your technique, before your assessment, before your hands even touch the table — there's something your patient needs more: to feel safe. In this episode, Jamie dives into the first of Hobfoll's Five Elements of trauma intervention: the promotion of safety. Drawing on a vivid story from his time as a firefighter learning rope rescue, Jamie unpacks why so many patients walk into your room with a nervous system that's still braced for danger — and what you can actually do about it. You'll learn: Why fear avoidance isn't weakness — it's the nervous system doing its jobHow shared decision-making and patient-centered care are actually safety mechanismsWhat graded exposure looks like inside a treatment room (and why you're probably already using it)How to reflect improvement back to your patient in a way that builds self-efficacy — not dependency on youThis episode will change how you think about what you bring into the room — and it has nothing to do with your hands. *Next episode: Why Changing Your Language Changes Everything — element two, the promotion of calm.* Support the show

Send us Fan Mail What do you do when a patient starts opening up about something heavy — and you're not sure if it's your place to respond? Most massage therapists either freeze, change the subject, or redirect to something clinical. And while that feels safe, it sends a message the patient notices more than you think. In this episode, Jamie breaks down what trauma-informed care actually looks like in practice — not theory, not counseling — just how you show up in the room. You'll learn: Why almost every patient you see has experienced trauma by definitionWhy changing the subject when someone opens up is never neutralHobfoll's Five Elements of Trauma Intervention — a framework built for mass trauma that applies directly to your treatment roomWhat safety, calm, self-efficacy, connectedness, and hope look like in practiceWhy your therapeutic relationship is already one of the most powerful healing tools you haveThis isn't about overstepping your scope. It's about recognizing what's already in it. 🎙️ New episodes every week. Hit follow so you never miss one — and if this resonated, a quick review goes a long way in helping other therapists find this content. Connect with Jamie: 📷 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themtdc/ 🌐 Website: www.themtdc.com If The New Generation Massage Therapist Podcast has shifted how you think about your practice, the best thing you can do is hit follow and leave a review — it takes two minutes and it helps other therapists find this content. That's the whole point. Thank you for being here. 🎙️ Support the show

Send us Fan Mail There are people I treated early in my career who I owe an apology to. Not because I didn't care. Not because I wasn't trying. But because I was doing things I genuinely believed were helping them — and I'm not sure they were. This episode is about the shift. The messy, frustrating, identity-shaking process of going from someone who thought they had it figured out to someone who had to admit they didn't. From the sports guy who believed deep pressure was the only way to make a difference — to a practitioner who had to question everything he was taught, everything he paid for, and everything his professional identity was built on. If you've ever felt angry at the people asking questions — or stuck in the middle between what you were taught and what the evidence is telling you — this one's for you. In this episode: Why I came out of school convinced I was going to be the "sports guy" — and why that identity cost some of my early patientsThe Facebook moment that made me furious — and what was really underneath that angerThe patient I still think about who never came backThe San Diego Pain Summit and the community that finally changed things for meThe full circle moment — when I became the person making *other* therapists angryWhy you're not dumb for not knowing this yet — you're just at a particular stage in your career We're all just at different stages. And that's okay. --- If this episode resonated with you, the best thing you can do is follow the show and leave a review — it makes a real difference. Support the show

Send us Fan Mail We learned how to help people physically. We learned technique, anatomy, and how to build a treatment plan. But managing our finances as self-employed practitioners? Nobody taught us that. In this episode, Jamie sits down with friend and fellow RMT Heather Green — founder of The Proactive Practitioner — to talk about the financial systems she's built specifically for massage therapists. From tracking business expenses to navigating GST, setting aside the right amount for tax season, and actually knowing where your money is going each month — this one is for every practitioner who has ever dreaded the email from their accountant. In this episode they cover: Why financial literacy is one of the biggest gaps in our trainingHeather's Financial Freedom Course — what it covers and who it's forThe Tax Tracker vs the Financial Freedom Blueprint — which one is right for youGST quick method vs regular method — what the difference actually means for your practiceHow to do your own bookkeeping without it taking over your lifeManaging receipts and handing off to your accountant with easeWhy manual entry often beats AI for small practice bookkeepingHow both Heather and Jamie's ADHD brains shaped the way these tools were designedThe community Heather is building for proactive practitioners Whether you've been in practice for two years or twenty — if your finances aren't as organised as your treatment room, this episode is for you. *Note: Heather's course and spreadsheets are primarily designed for BC-based practitioners, with most content applicable Canada-wide.* 🔗 Find Heather and The Proactive Practitioner:  https://getbodywell.com/home/tppc/ https://www.facebook.com/proactivepractitioner https://www.instagram.com/proactivepractitioner/ 🔗 Sign up for the Mental Health and Psychological First Aid waitlist: https://go.themtdc.com/mhfa-waitlist Support the show

Send us Fan Mail This is the final episode of the Are We Mental Health Professionals? series — and this one gets personal. Parts 1 and 2 were about your patients. This one starts by turning the lens on us. Because everything we've been talking about across this series — the psychological weight patients bring, the emotional complexity of these conversations, the pressure to get it right — all of that lands somewhere. And a lot of the time, it lands on us. In this episode we cover: How integrating basic psychological techniques like abdominal breathing and guided body scans into your sessions outperforms physical therapy aloneThe NOI Group's danger signals vs safety signals framework — and how a simple conversation helped one patient reclaim yoga, movement confidence, and her relationship with her own bodyHow to navigate mental health conversations without stigma — the language that opens doors and the golden rule you cannot skipThe clinical evidence behind yoga, tai chi, and MBSR for treating MSK conditions and mental health simultaneouslyUniversal screening — what it looks like in a clinic and what it looks like when you work soloThe Mental Health Champion concept — and why solo practitioners are their own championPractitioner burnout — what it actually looks like, why it sneaks up quietly, and why booking that counselling appointment isn't weakness All three parts of the series are now out. Start at Part 1 if you haven't already — they're meant to be taken together. 🔗 Sign up for the Mental Health and Psychological First Aid waitlist: [CLICK HERE] Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Most of us were never taught that our words could make our patients worse. But the research is clear — the language we use in the treatment room produces real, measurable outcomes. Not just emotionally. Neurologically. In Part 2 of the Are We Mental Health Professionals? series, we're diving into one of the most underappreciated concepts in all of healthcare — the nocebo effect. And once you understand it, you'll never hear your own language the same way again. In this episode we cover: What the nocebo effect is and why it matters for every MSK practitionerThe four specific ways placebo analgesia is increased — and what that means for how you show up in the treatment roomThe most common nocebic phrases in our profession and what to say insteadHow to handle patients who arrive convinced their rib is out — or carrying fear-based language from a previous practitionerWhy your brain is a prediction machine and how that changes everything about clinical communicationThe difference between clinical reassurance and false reassurance — and why it mattersThe affective and cognitive reassurance framework and how it reduces anxiety and pain catastrophizingWhy language is not separate from treatment — it is treatmentWhether you've been in practice for two years or twenty, some of this is going to make you uncomfortable. That's the point. This isn't an indictment — it's an invitation to start doing things differently. Part 3 of the series is coming soon. 🔗 Sign up for the Mental Health and Psychological First Aid waitlist: [CLICK HERE] Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Are we mental health professionals? It's a question that might make some of you uncomfortable. And honestly, that discomfort is exactly why it needs to be asked. Because most of us are already influencing our patients' mental health every single session. We're just not being intentional about it. In Part 1 of this three-part series, we lay the foundation — the hidden half of every treatment that nobody taught us about in school. We look at what the research actually says about massage therapy's effects on anxiety and depression, why the therapeutic relationship may be the most clinically significant thing happening in your room, and how understanding your patient's mindset changes everything about how you approach a session. In this episode: What the research actually says about massage therapy and mental health — including where there's genuine debate and where the evidence is strongWhy there's no neutral in a patient interaction — you're always either mitigating distress or inadvertently making it worseThe therapeutic alliance — what it is, why it's a clinical prerequisite, and how to build it before your hands are even on the patientActive listening and non-verbal communication — the tools that lower anxiety before a word of treatment beginsFixed vs. growth mindset — why identifying which one is in your room changes your entire clinical approachHow to build self-efficacy in a fixed-mindset patient in a single sessionWhy your growth-mindset patient's biggest enemy might be their own motivation This is the series I've been wanting to do for a while. I hope it shifts something for you. 🔔 Want to be the first to know when Mental Health First Aid and Psychological First Aid courses open? Join the waitlist → [HERE] 🎙️ Enjoying the podcast? Subscribe so you never miss an episode — and if this resonated with you, leaving a review helps other massage therapists find the show. ⭐ Support the show

Send us Fan Mail As our profession pushes toward patient-centered care, one thing is becoming clear — the old clinician-as-the-expert model isn't serving our patients the way we think it is. In this episode, Jamie sits down with Walt Fritz — a physical therapist with nearly 40 years of experience and someone who famously walked away from a prominent role in the myofascial release world to publicly question the narratives he'd built his career on. They talk about shared decision-making, informed consent, power sharing in the therapeutic relationship, and why the "soft skills" might actually be the most important skills we have. In this episode: Why the clinician-as-the-expert model is failing our patientsHow the language we use (like "releasing fascia") affects informed consentWhat shared decision-making actually looks like in a treatment roomThe concept of *metatherapy* — and why how you apply a technique matters more than the technique itselfHow to give patients a range of treatment choices including home care, frequency, and movementWhy the "micromanaging patient" is actually your greatest assetCarl Rogers' 1957 paper and what psychotherapy figured out 70 years ago that manual therapy is still catching up toWhy Walt calls these "human skills," not soft skills Whether you're deep into manual therapy or just starting to question some of the narratives you were taught — this conversation is going to make you think differently about the person on your table. Safety video Walt Referenced can be found by clicking HERE References:  Helou, L. (2017). Crafting the dialogue: Meta-therapy in transgender voice and communication training. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 2(10), 83-91. Cerritelli, F., Chiacchiaretta, P., Gambi, F., & Ferretti, A. (2017). Effect of continuous touch on brain functional connectivity is modified by the operator’s tactile attention. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 11, 368. Rogers, C. R. (1957). The necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic personality change. Journal of consulting psychology, 21(2), 95. 🎙️ Enjoying the podcast? Subscribe so you never miss an episode — and if this conversation helped you, leaving a review helps other massage therapists find the show. If the New Generation Massage Therapist Podcast has been part of your growth as a therapist, consider supporting the show. For as little as $3 a month you help keep this content free and accessible for massage therapists everywhere who are ready to lead. Support the show

Send us Fan Mail We've been told a lot of things by our regulatory bodies about what we should and shouldn't do in our treatment rooms. But there's one area where I think we've been steered in the wrong direction — and that's mental health conversations. Of all the musculoskeletal professions out there, our patients open up to us the most. They're on our tables for an hour, relaxed, vulnerable, and trusting. And yet we've been consistently told to shut those conversations down and hand them a referral card. This episode is about why that needs to change. ⚠️ *Content warning: this episode discusses self-harm and suicide. Please honour where you're at before listening.* In this episode: Why massage therapists are uniquely positioned to hold space for mental health conversationsJamie's personal story of losing 12 people to suicide — and what every one of them had in commonWhy suicide isn't what most people think it is — and why that reframe mattersWhy it's better to say something than nothing — every timeThe ALGEE framework from Mental Health First Aid and how it applies directly to your treatment roomWhat the research actually says about asking someone directly if they're thinking about self-harmTwo real-life stories about asking the hard question — and what happened nextThis is the conversation our profession has been avoiding. It's time we stopped. 🎓 Want to feel genuinely equipped for these conversations? Jamie teaches both Psychological First Aid and Mental Health First Aid. Sign up on the waitlist: https://go.themtdc.com/mhfa-waitlist 🆘 In crisis or know someone who is? Call or text 988 (Canada & US) — someone will answer. Here is a link to find a helpline anywhere in the world https://findahelpline.com/ ☕ Love the podcast? Help us keep this content free and accessible for massage therapists everywhere. Support the show

Send us Fan Mail We didn't learn this in school — but we probably should have. In this episode, Jamie sits down with friend and fellow RMT Mike Reoch to talk about something most massage therapists are never taught: how to actually build a sustainable practice. Mike has been a massage therapist for 18 years, worked in seven clinics across five cities, and now runs a thriving clinic in Kamloops with his wife — and he has a lot to say about what actually makes a practice work long-term. In this episode we cover: Why BC isn't actually saturated with RMTs — and what the numbers really sayHow to stand out when every therapist's bio sounds exactly the sameFinding your ideal patient avatar and why niching down actually grows your practiceThe danger of building your practice on one referral source — and how to diversifyWhy "sales" doesn't have to feel gross — and what good sales actually looks likeMike's new course, *The Honest Practice Blueprint*, and why he built it for newer RMTsWhether you're just starting out or feeling stuck in your current practice, this conversation is full of practical, honest advice that nobody taught us in school. 🎙️ Enjoying the podcast? Subscribe so you never miss an episode — and if this conversation helped you, leaving a review goes a long way in helping other massage therapists find this show. If the New Generation Massage Therapist Podcast has been part of your growth as a therapist, consider supporting the show. For as little as $3/month you help keep this content free and available for massage therapists everywhere who are ready to level up Support the show

Send us Fan Mail We've spent three episodes talking about your patients' nervous systems. This one is about yours. If you're showing up for complex, trauma-affected patients with skill and sensitivity — you're absorbing something in the process. That's not a weakness. That's the cost of caring. And it puts you directly at risk for compassion fatigue. In this final episode of our four-part series on trauma and the nervous system, we turn the lens around and talk about what this work actually costs us as therapists — and more importantly, what we can do about it. In this episode we cover: The two distinct components of compassion fatigue — secondary traumatic stress and burnout — and why understanding the difference mattersThe Job Demands-Resources Model and how it explains why so many therapists feel depletedHow your own HPA axis responds to chronic stress in the same way your patients' doesThe three core psychological needs that research shows protect against burnout: autonomy, competence, and relatednessWhy protecting yourself isn't selfish — it's clinical The work you do matters. And it requires a version of you that has something left to give. 🎓 Ready to build everything from this series into a real clinical framework? Fundamentals of Therapeutic Movement for Trauma-Competent Therapists is now open — everything we've covered across these four episodes, plus the practical tools to put it into action in your treatment room. 👉 [https://go.themtdc.com/ftm] ☕ Love the podcast and want to help keep it going? You can support the show for as little as $3/month — every contribution helps us keep creating free, evidence-based content for massage therapists who want to lead: Support the show