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30 Issue 96 April 2011 InternAtIonAl therApIst www.fht.org.uk

Holistic | Training

Heightened sensesJoanna Reeves talks to three FHT members and the Royal National

College for the Blind to discover how visual impairment affects therapy training and practice

Having spoken with a number of our visually impaired members who are

excelling in the therapy industry, the FHT was interested to discover how impaired sight can affect therapy training and practice. Here, three FHT members talk about their personal experiences, and the Royal National College for the Blind (RNCB) discusses how training designed for visually impaired therapists differs from standard training.

Twist of fateNikki Watson, MFHT, qualified in holistic massage, reflexology, and sports massage at the RNCB, and is studying for a degree in complementary health at the University of Plymouth.

Nikki, who has a condition called retinitis pigmentosa, says: ‘I have always been a tactile person, enjoying massaging friends and family. I even looked into courses, but a full-time job and financial commitments meant I never took it any further. However, three years ago, my husband was very ill and, consequently, my life changed considerably. I remember thinking I wanted to make something positive come out of this, which gave me the push to give up the job I wasn’t happy in and enrol on my first therapy training course.’

Another FHT member who had always appreciated the power of touch even before becoming a therapist is Jaina Mistry. She lost her sight due to Stevens-Johnson Syndrome

(SJS) and now provides reflexology, aromatherapy and Swedish massage. Jaina says: ‘Prior to my sight loss, I had always enjoyed massaging the feet of my family and friends. I remember on one occasion a friend who had suffered from persistent elbow pain reporting a dramatic relief from symptoms. At the time I knew little about reflexology or its potential therapeutic benefits, but this incident instantly sprang to my mind when I lost my sight and a future in art and design was no longer feasible. I set about exploring complementary therapies, and reflexology in particular, and developed an instant and deep fascination for this form of ancient healing.’

A personal experience led Nicholas Mulryan, MFHT, who has congenital glaucoma secondary to Axenfeld syndrome glaucoma, to become a complementary therapist. Nicholas is qualified in a number of therapies – including shiatsu, reiki, reflexology, aromatherapy, Thai massage and seated acupressure.

Nicholas says: ‘I lost the majority of my sight during my final years at school when I was undertaking GCSEs and A-levels, at which point I had to rebuild my life and re-educate myself. My previous occupation was as a cocktail pianist, but I qualified in Indian head massage in 2007, having seen how greatly complementary therapies enhanced the quality of life for a friend suffering from cancer. I provide treatments voluntarily to palliative cancer care clients at a local

hospice, as well as studying for a degree in osteopathy with the College of Osteopaths in collaboration with Keele University.’

Rise to the challenge The main challenges that our visually impaired members face when undertaking standard therapy training includes treatment practicalities, educating people about visual impairment, and gaining course material (particularly anatomical diagrams) in the right format, such as large font size, Braille and tactile diagrams. Nicholas took the initiative during his training and asked permission for extra reading time during theory exams and to complete verbal/practical exams with examiners, which allowed him to physically demonstrate muscle contractions, meridian and acupressure points, and the different stages of tissue repair during rehabilitation.

Nikki, who has trained with both the RNCB and the University of Plymouth, said that the former involved more practical, hands-on learning, with most of the training carried out on people. Once students had gained a sufficient amount of theoretical knowledge and practical experience, they would then work under supervision on the public in the college clinics.

Jane Crabtree, head of the therapy department at the RNCB, explains that specialist teaching methods, such as tactile materials during anatomy and physiology classes, ensure students are prepared to be

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With thanks to Nikki Watson, MFHT, Nicholas Mulryan, MFHT, Jaina Mistry, MFHT, and the Royal National College for the Blind for all of their help with this article. For more information about the training courses available at RNCB, or for advice on career choice, training and funding for the visually impaired, please visit www.rncb.ac.uk or telephone 01432 376621.

InternAtIonAl therApIst www.fht.org.uk www.fht.org.uk InternAtIonAl therApIst Issue 96 April 2011 31

Training | Holistic

The FHT is happy to email the text documents of features in each issue of International Therapist to members who are visually impaired and have the computer software that offers a ‘read-back’ or ‘text to speech’ facility. Alternatively, we can send a CD containing the text documents by post. Please contact the FHT membership office on 023 8062 4350 or email jreeves@fht.org.uk if you or another member would benefit from this service.

Pictures, from left: The Royal National College for the Blind; Jaina Mistry giving a reflexology treatment; Nicholas Mulryan practising Thai massage; Jane Crabtree (right) teaching; Nikki Watson providing a massage

able to compete and succeed in a sighted world. The RNCB sport and complementary therapy courses are longer than standard training courses and are taught by staff who specialise not only in their subject area, but also in teaching people with sight loss.

Course content is the same as with standard training, but there is additional training on mobility and orientation, so that once therapists are in their clinic and know their space, they can work as effectively and easily as their sighted colleagues. Learning combines therapy practice in on-site industry standard treatment rooms with regular work experience opportunities, dealing with external clients attending the college gym and weekly clinics.

Students at RNCB also have access to independent living skills training (especially valuable for those who are moving away from home for the first time, or who have just lost their sight and are retraining) and have a curriculum that allows students to combine relevant study areas to create bespoke courses according to their ambition. Many, for example, combine complementary therapy with business and IT training, or sports and recreation if they want to specialise in that area.

Forward thinkingFinding solutions to any problems a qualified and practising therapist may face due to sight impairment, involves flexibility and adaptability. Jaina says that a common problem faced by visually impaired therapists is the accurate measurement of essential oil drops when creating a safe aromatherapy blend. To overcome this, she discovered that listing essential oils in alphabetical order with abbreviated Braille labels helps to locate bottles more efficiently, and a small, lightweight measuring container helps her to hear and count each individual drop of oil. Other challenges that Jaina faced involved filling out the consultation form and obtaining client consent for treatment.

To overcome these, she uses a screen reader on her laptop for a thorough and accurate consultation, and gains verbal consent from the client using a voice recorder.

Whether to tell clients of a visual impairment can take some consideration and appears to depend on the circumstances – some therapists feel it is unnecessary to do so if it does not affect their practice, although sometimes it may be necessary to explain any adjustments to the treatment procedure. Jaina says that she wants new clients to acknowledge her for her professional work rather than her disability, and as she strongly promotes a client-centred approach, informing clients of her disability can sometimes take the focus away from the client by leading to unnecessary discussion concerning her own health.

Nicholas agrees that he does not feel it is necessary to tell private clients that he has a visual impairment because he has qualified in the same therapy and is as competent as his sighted peers. However, there are occasions when he does inform a client of his impaired vision because ‘it is important to keep within your limitations as a visually impaired therapist in order to work effectively and safely.

‘For example, I would not run on to a football or rugby pitch with my guide dog during a game, but I would work behind the scenes in the treatment rooms.’

Unique qualitiesJane from the RNCB believes that people with sight loss bring unique qualities to the therapy table, including a refined and heightened sense of touch, and honed listening skills, which can make an enormous difference to their effectiveness

at work. Nicholas says, ‘speaking from my own experience, I do not feel that my sense of touch has improved with sight loss, I have just become more aware of my senses. This has made me more attuned to the client – from feeling heat in an inflamed/swollen joint, to locating the facet out of line or a ligament problem using tactile touch.’

Jane also believes some clients feel at ease being treated by someone who is blind, as it can lower inhibitions they may have about their body, or help clients to relax and become more receptive to the treatment. Nikki agrees, saying, ‘although I miss out on some of the client’s body language, I feel my acute sense of hearing compensates for this, helping to pick up on certain tones in the voice that indicate what’s really going on, such as anxiety. I am really in tune with my sense of touch, which can help to locate heat and inflammation. Many clients with poor body image also feel more comfortable getting undressed in front of me.’

NB. As part of her degree, Nikki will be carrying out a small research project into therapists with disabilities. If any therapists with a disability would be happy to participate in Nikki’s research project, please email aloevinder@googlemail.com