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Description
Moving beyond modalities to build resilience.
Are you tired of the "fixer" trap? Most massage therapists are taught that their value lies solely in their hands—that if they just learn one more modality or take one more certification, they’ll finally have the "magic bullet" for their patients' pain. But this cycle often leads to two things: patients who remain passive and therapists who end up burnt out.
Welcome to The New Generation Massage Therapist Podcast.
Hosted by Jamie Johnston—massage therapist, firefighter, and educator—this show is dedicated to shifting the industry standard from passive "tissue manipulation" to evidence-informed, biopsychosocial care. We challenge industry norms and dive deep into the topics that many in our profession have long avoided: pain science, mental health, and the therapeutic power of movement.
Each week, we explore how to:
- Shift your identity from a "fixer" to a facilitator of change.
- Master human skills like mindful communication and crisis intervention to build a stronger therapeutic alliance.
- Incorporate movement (without needing a gym) to prove to your patients that they aren't "broken."
- Retrain the nervous system to help patients with persistent pain find lasting results.
Whether you are a seasoned RMT/LMT or a student just starting out, this podcast provides the practical, research-backed tools you need to build a more effective practice and a more fulfilling, sustainable career.
It’s time to stop chasing certifications and start building resilience.
35 Episodes
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"I'm not a psychologist. I should just stay in my lane, right?" As massage therapists, we are often told to refer out the moment a patient mentions mental health struggles. But what happens when that referral is the very thing that makes a patient feel dismissed? What if "staying in our lane" actually sabotages their physical recovery? In this episode, Jamie draws on his experience as both a massage therapist and a firefighter to explain why you are uniquely positioned to help patients in cri...
"But Jamie, I’m not a personal trainer. I don’t even have a gym in my clinic!" If you’ve ever felt like movement-based therapy is "out of scope" or requires fancy equipment, this episode is for you. Many of us were taught that our value lies solely in what we do to a patient on the table. But when we rely only on passive techniques, we miss the most powerful tool for building long-term resilience: Movement. In this episode, we’re debunking the myth that you need a CSCS certification to use ex...
"I did the work, gave them the stretches, and they still came back two weeks later with no improvement." If that sounds familiar, you aren’t alone. Most massage therapists respond to "difficult" cases by chasing more certifications and better manual techniques. But what if the lack of progress has nothing to do with your hands, and everything to do with the gap between what you say and what your patient actually hears? In this episode, we’re breaking down why communication isn't a "soft skill...
Have you ever scrolled through social media, seen a post about "pain science" or "evidence-based practice," and felt an immediate surge of defensiveness? Like everything you spent thousands of dollars and years of school to learn was being called a lie? In this episode, we’re getting vulnerable about the professional "identity crisis" that many therapists face. I share my own journey from being a modality-driven therapist who wanted to "hammer muscles and tear shit up" to someone who felt per...
Are you a massage therapist who feels in over your head or finds yourself avoiding crucial conversations about mental health with your patients? You don't have to keep feeling that way. In this powerful episode, we tackle the reality that your patients often carry more than just physical pain. We introduce a systematic and compassionate approach to navigating mental health discussions right in your treatment room—a method that is designed to build trust, honour professional boundaries, and si...
Have you ever frozen mid-massage because a patient opened up about something heavy—trauma, grief, or deep anxiety—and you had no idea how to respond? In this raw and honest episode,I share the story I rarely like to tell: the day I completely failed a patient after he shared a horrifying moment from his past. I unpack a cringeworthy mistake I made—centering myself in his trauma—and explain why the conventional advice to keep "mental health out of your scope" is actually causing harm to both y...
I think we've all seen changes in the past couple of years with the pandemic and other things going on. For the both of us, we experienced a significant amount of burnout, so we thought we'd share our stories as we're sure we aren't alone in the experience. And as always, check out our websites. www.themtdc.com www.ericpurves.com and our emails: jamie@themtdc.com hello@ericpurves.com
Education, education, education. We constantly promote a better education for Massage Therapists and as those who teach continuing education courses we have a lot of responsibility to keep current with new evidence and research. And so do our associations. Our associations wield some great power in what can and is offered to their perspective memberships for continuing education. But are they all handling their responsibility well? If not, their members should demand better. ...
As massage therapists, we often rely on learning new modalities or rely on many of the ones we learned in college as a way to help our patients. But does it really matter which modality we use? There are so many other factors that contribute to better outcomes when people come to see us, the modality we use while the person receives treatment matters less than we've been lead to believe. Let's start to worry less about learning new ways to touch people and start focusing on what we can do ...
In this episode we discuss some of the advances, changes, and recommendations that have taken place since the biopsychosocial framework was introduced 40 years ago. This is one of the many things we discuss in our upcoming courses along with therapeutic movement and rehab. These courses can be taken in person, or online so please click the link below and join us in October! REGISTER HERE And as always, check out our websites. www.themtdc.com www.ericpurves.com and our emails:&nb...
In this episode we discuss the buzzwords circling around our continuing education and how you can interpret and decide whether the course you're taking is evidence based. And as always, check out our websites. www.themtdc.com www.ericpurves.com and our emails: jamie@themtdc.com hello@ericpurves.com
In this episode we discuss the updated education requirements from our college in BC. While some take this update to think they don't have to take continuing education anymore, we argue that it is our responsibility as healthcare professionals to do so. And as always, check out our websites. www.themtdc.com www.ericpurves.com and our emails: jamie@themtdc.com hello@ericpurves.com
In this episode we discuss some papers that challenge some of the available pain models of understanding. While there are some good challenges on language, the overall message remains the same; treat the person in front of you. And as always, check out our websites. www.themtdc.com www.ericpurves.com and our emails: jamie@themtdc.com hello@ericpurves.com
In this episode we discuss some papers on therapeutic exercise for the neck as well as the low back. We also look at challenging industry norms and how others get upset by what you're saying. And as always, check out our websites. www.themtdc.com www.ericpurves.com and our emails: jamie@themtdc.com hello@ericpurves.com
You ever have one of those moments where you get faced with a piece of research that challenges, something that you've been saying for a long time? We're going to talk about that today. Because I've been long saying how going for a walk is one of the best things you can do for low back pain. And while it's can still be an effective thing, we've come apart come upon some research that tells us otherwise. So we'll get into that today. But I think before we get into that one, we've got one paper...
On this episode we look at a great paper entitled: "Challenges for Evidence-Based Physical Therapy: Accessing and Interpreting High-Quality Evidence on Therapy" This was a great paper as it shows us several different challenges to incorporating research into practice, what the best research papers are, and why it's important to use them. While it does highlight some of the challenges, we as healthcare professionals should look at this not as a challenge but rather an opportunity we sho...
On this episode, we chat about some of the failures we've had in our careers. It's important to talk about failures because you can't succeed without failing. Also because we all make mistakes in practice but we're not alone, the more we discuss them, the greater growth we can have. And as always, check out our websites. www.themtdc.com www.ericpurves.com and our emails: jamie@themtdc.com hello@ericpurves.com
On this episode we look at a great paper entitled: "Manual Therapy: Exploiting The Role Of Human Touch." This was a great paper as it shows us several different things about the benefit of touch. While there are some therapists out there saying things like: "manual therapy sucks" this paper helps refute that and shows the benefits of touch in a therapeutic setting. Here is a link to the paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2468781219302887 And as alway...
On this episode we look at a research paper entitled: Manual therapy and exercise for rotator cuff disease (Review). This paper helps us understand a bit better how we can help people with possible rotator cuff issues and the best approach to use. Here is a link to the paper: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD012224/pdf/full And as always, check out our websites. www.themtdc.com www.ericpurves.com and our emails: jamie@themtdc.com hello...
On this episode we look at Tone Police and Language and how this functions within our profession. We are of the belief that we choose how to react to someone's words and perhaps the way we react isn't always warranted. Check out our upcoming live courses in October that can also be attended via zoom by clicking the link: https://themtdc.com/courses/clinical-applications-of-pain-science-manual-therapy-exercise-and-rehabilitation-principles-for-rmts/ And as always, check out our webs...
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