Massage Therapy Canada

Features Collaboration Practice
Contributor to Our Profession: Winter 2002

I have been a member of the Massage Therapist Association of Alberta (MTAA) since 1991 and am currently the past-President of the Association. Born in Halifax, I am the oldest of two daughters who grew up in a military family across Canada.  Transplanted to Victoria, B.C. in 1971, I then moved to Edmonton in 1979 where I proceeded to concentrate on my career in the Massage Therapy field and raise my family.

September 16, 2009  By Massage Therapy Magazine


Tell us a little about you?

I have been a member of the Massage Therapist Association of Alberta (MTAA) since 1991 and am currently the past-President of the Association. Born in Halifax, I am the oldest of two daughters who grew up in a military family across Canada.  Transplanted to Victoria, B.C. in 1971, I then moved to Edmonton in 1979 where I proceeded to concentrate on my career in the Massage Therapy field and raise my family.

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Professional Profile:

In 1979, I ended my nursing career  and pursued a new path in massage therapy. I graduated in 1980 from the Northern Institute of Massage program in Edmonton and taught at the Grant MacEwan Annex.

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In 1988, I graduated from the University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Arts, sociology major, with specialization in gerontology.

I have been practicing in the field of massage therapy for 22 years and have been active in the MTAA for the majority of my career. 

Currently I am a facilitator for various workshops on massage and stress management, as well as, I am an instructor in the Grant MacEwan Massage Program.

I deal with a diverse group of clients. My area of speciality is in gerontology where I primarily offer a mobile service to seniors for convenience and ease of obtaining massage therapy services. My techniques range from Swedish massage to Shiatsu, fascia release, neuromuscular techniques, trigger point therapy, and various modalities such as reflexology and stress management techniques.

Influential people or experiences leading you into this profession and career:

I was looking for a career that would integrate my education, skills and experiences from all my studies to fulfill a successful entrepreneurial career. I was mentored by two female therapists whose experiences and wisdom guided me in this direction of the massage therapy field.

When I first started working in the profession, I was established at health clubs such as the YWCA and my practice was primarily composed of females as opposed to males.

Times have changed – with expanded education and awareness of the benefits of massage therapy, now there tends to be as many male clients as female clients. Moreover, the services for the senior population have also increased.

Most cherished experience or accomplishment. Why?

Being President-elect of the MTAA for four years. I learned through my involvement with the Canadian Massage Therapist Alliance and other Association Presidents that we are all part of a whole. It was great to experience camaraderie and unity of purpose, such as, playing a role in helping government define the profession of massage therapy and its role in Canada’s health care system.

Moreover, I have grown both personally and professionally as a successful massage therapist.

The challenges, commitment and accomplishments will always be there but, overall I have learned that you need teamwork, goals and visions to make things happen.

Hope for our profession in the near and distant future:

As massage therapy becomes further recognized and provinces become regulated through due process I see massage as a viable part of the health discipline field. Being included as a team member with physiotherapist, doctor, and chiropractor to promote better healing for clients.

Words of wisdom:

Be the best you can be … expand your horizons through education, meeting with colleagues, and
networking around the globe.


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