Leslie Freeman, LMT, Bereavement Massage Therapy

I have been privileged to work as a LMT in Sarasota FL for 21+ years, starting in 1992. In 2013, while pondering which direction to take this work in, I was blessed to have a very special "aha" moment, the inspiration to "work with those left behind"...to work with those finding themselves in the throes of a grief experience, to create a bodywork that addresses the malaise that can come along with a Bereavement process, including feelings of being 'at loose ends', or disconnected,....
to create a bodywork that assists the Bereaved to more easily cope with day-to-day life activities while going through their unique Bereavement process. Soon after the idea of BMT was born, I met the Amazing Annie Murphy, LMT, who joined in on this BMT journey, as we created the BMT protocol together. In 2014 Annie & I began using the BMT protocol on volunteer test subjects enduring real grief situations, & to our delight, the feedback we received was truly positive, such as test subjects regaining their appetite, enjoying improved quality of sleep, less frequency of disturbing dreams, less fatigue, & most commonly: having a sense of a 'heavy weight lifted' from their being. To be clear, BMT is NOT counseling. BMT is a specific Bodywork protocol, applied in a specific order, using soothing techniques derived from the Therapeutic Touch, Cranio-Sacral, Infant Massage, Reiki, Reflexology, Polarity, & Swedish massage modalities . BMT is done within 3 sessions spanning the course of four weeks, each session takes approximately 50- 60 minutes to complete. Cost for the 3 session BMT protocol is currently $150, with a sliding scale for those under financial duress. Next up will be BMT classes to share with other LMTs, & our long-term vision is to create a BMT non profit, to make BMT available for all who wish to receive it, on a broad-scale, including response efforts to community traumas.