Starting Better Together November 2021: Healwell's Peer Supervision for New Therapists
A free MBLEx prep course and a structured group for support and accountability can help with personal growth and career longevity.
Course Description
Most of us will have to pass a licensing exam, usually the MBLEx, before we can begin our massage therapy careers. After the exam, we can be left feeling lost without the support we found in school. Starting Better Together pairs MBLEx preparation and support with ongoing mentorship for a strong start as a massage therapist.
Most massage therapists burn out or change professions within the first 5 years. The early years of the career can be difficult to navigate alone, especially in uncertain times where we have to reconsider almost everything about how we practice. As we grow and encounter a greater variety of clients in our practice, we often encounter scenarios where we need the listening ears and lived experience of a variety of therapists to decide on the best client care.
Mental health professionals use regular, structured group meetings, called Supervision, to examine their own work and their identity as professionals. Using this model, we can also grow in the profession, identify our strengths, and build our personal and professional lives around those strengths.
This group is specifically designed for folks who have less than 2 years in the profession. With a structured group for support and accountability, massage therapists in this peer group will expand their knowledge and commitment to the profession, and thus improve the quality of care they deliver and gain inspiration for the future and the longevity of their career.
Dates & Times
The MBLEx prep portion of this program will cover test taking strategies, in addition to content review. This portion of the program meets four evenings, from 6:30-8:30pm EST:
November 16 and 30, 2021
December 7 and 14, 2021
The Peer Supervision Group will meet in person via Zoom on the third Tuesday of every month, from 6:30 - 7:30pm, Eastern time. In addition to the group meetings, each participant will have the opportunity to schedule two individual meeting with the facilitator over the course of the year. These one-on-one meetings will be scheduled at your convenience.
Regular Meeting Dates (all meeting will be at 6:30pm Eastern time):
January 18, 2022
February 15, 2022
March 15, 2022
April 19, 2022
May 17, 2022
June 21, 2022
July 19, 2022
August 16, 2022
September 20, 2022
October 18, 2022
November 15, 2022
December 20, 2022
Facilitator
Instructor & Education Director Rebecca Sturgeon
In addition to being a valuable member of Healwell’s faculty and curriculum
development team, Rebecca is also Healwell’s Education Director. She works
tirelessly to organize existing courses and to create new opportunities for Healwell
to offer meaningful and robust inter-professional education for massage therapists and other health care providers. Rebecca co-authored "Oncology Massage: An integrative approach to cancer care" (Handspring, 2021.) As a former teacher of writing at the college level, Rebecca is passionate about the written word and about all forms of human communication. In her massage practice, she focuses on integrating therapeutic massage as part of overall health and wellness care. She is also an experienced mentor to new massage therapists, and facilitator of learning groups.
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Guest Instructor Andrew Jurdan
Andrew Jurdan graduated from East-West College of the Healing Arts in Portland, Oregon in 1996. Andrew practices Zen Shiatsu as well as an integrative, evidence-informed approach to massage therapy. They enjoy the opportunity to share the benefits of massage therapy with people in all their diversity and backgrounds, from introducing infant massage to new parents, working with individuals in hospice, and all the stages of life in-between.
Andrew has been teaching and developing curriculum in massage therapy education since 1999, striving to keep up to date with the ever-improving understanding of humans, health, massage therapy, and how we learn. They share their passion for learning in various subjects including: massage therapy, human biology, pregnancy massage, research literacy, clinical reasoning, Zen Shiatsu, pain science, and therapeutic presence. Andrew has taught in several Boston area massage schools, including Massage Institute of New England, Palmer Institute of Massage & Bodywork, Cortiva Institute - Boston, and most recently, Elizabeth Grady School of Massage Therapy.
Andrew seeks to support the advancement of excellence in the field of massage therapy and massage therapy education by volunteering their time and experience with several organizations including the NCBTMB, the Massage Therapy Foundation, and the Alliance for Massage Therapy Education, were they are currently serving on the Board of Directors.
When not seeing clients in Boston, or teaching courses, Andrew can be found enjoying the ever-changing seasons of New England with their spouse and two boys, and almost always with a book to read and a camera.
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