Joan Borysenko Gives AMTA Keynote Address

Joan Borysenko

Massage therapists are “catalysts and guides” for clients who seek relief from stress, anxiety and depression, and they hold a space of compassion that could have healing benefits beyond those provided by their skilled touch. This was the message delivered by Joan Borysenko, Ph.D., in her keynote address to attendees of the American Massage Therapy Association Annual National Convention.

Borysenko is a psychologist and scientist and the author of Minding the Body, Mending the Mind, A Woman’s Journey to God, Menopause: Initiation into Power and Inner Peace for Busy People, among other titles. The convention was held Sept. 26–29 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

In her keynote address titled “Minding the Body, Mending the Mind,” Borysenko discussed psychological factors that play a role in the development of pain and disease and how massage therapy can improve psychological function. She referred to the “big three” negative emotions that create stress—anxiety, depression and hostility—and referenced research that shows depression heightens the risk of osteoporosis, is predictive of physical decline in the elderly and increases production of proinflammatory cytokines, markers of increased risk of heart disease and cancer. She said she believes massage would produce a huge decrease in proinflammatory cytokines, although research is needed on that topic.

“Aches, pains, chronic fatigue, low-back pain, fibromyalgia, whatever it may be, pain is the main reason people seek out massage,” she said. “A lot of what you do is mind-body intervention.”

Borysenko claimed the mere presence of a caring health-care provider shouldn’t be overlooked either. “Clients want to sit with someone with an open heart,” she said. “You are, in fact, in a way, kind of a spiritual guide for people.”

She also referenced another research study that shows love decreases anxiety, stress and depression, while increasing well-being. The combination of love and massage, Borysenko said, is powerfully healing.

—Karen Menehan