Red Cross Blogs

A picture’s worth a thousand words

By Katrina Crew
August 7, 2009 at 3:36 pm

I have a secret. Okay, perhaps blogging about it isn’t the best way to keep it secret, but most of my colleagues are off sick or on holiday, so this is the perfect time to reveal it.

When I was at university, I became a trained massage therapist and worked for two years at a spa in San Diego. The reason I’m reluctant to mention this is that my colleagues often talk about how stiff their shoulders are from sitting at a computer all day long, and it’s much easier for me to keep my head down and ignore their subtle hints that they want a back rub.

If they knew the truth, I’d never get any work done.

The first time I ever heard about the British Red Cross was through an article in the Times a few years ago about one of the Red Cross’ health and social care services – therapeutic care. I was fascinated to read that volunteers are trained to give gentle neck and shoulder massages (over clothing) to people who find themselves in stressful situations.

It was something that I, as a professional massage therapist (by then retired), had seen over and over again. One client really sticks out in my mind. She was probably in her early thirties and her mom had booked the appointment as a birthday present. When she walked into the room, she said very shyly that she’d never had a massage before. She looked really closed off, with her arms wrapped around herself and her eyes looking at the ground.

An hour later, the transformation was remarkable. She was relaxed and smiling when she said: “No one’s touched me for years.”

This year marks the 50th anniversary of our therapeutic care service. The picture at the top of this blog shows some volunteers performing what used to be called ‘beauty care’ at a Leicester hospital in 1969. The treatment was found to boost patients’ morale and relieve their tension.

These are still two of the service’s aims. More recently, our volunteers have been involved with bereaved families and workers after the 7 July London bombings, and with displaced families during 2007’s UK floods.

Have a look at our online photo exhibition to find out more about the history of therapeutic care.

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Tags: Health and social care, history, massage, photo gallery, UK, volunteer

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