Gentle  Touch " A touch for health" 

 

Brenda Smith and Malisa Cartwright training in Massage Therapy began at National School of Technology now Everest Institute, Hialeah Florida in 2003 where they studied Advance Massage & Neuromuscular Therapy and both graduated with honors.  In 2004 after realizing that none of the Spa’s locally was appealing to the vision they had for massage therapy in the Bahamas, Gentle Touch “A touch for health” Advance Massage Therapy was born offering on call services for relaxation and health.

 

In 2005 they attended certification classes for Infant Massage Therapy at Florida College of Natural Health, Orlando Florida.  They were taught how to instruct doctors, nurses, parents and caregivers on how to massage sick and healthy infants. Over the years they have rendered there services to health fairs, career days, business symposiums and track meets such as GSSSA, National High School Track Meets sporting events hosted by the BAAA, CARIFTA and the 2014 IAAF RELAYS. In 2011 they obtain a certification in Pediatric Massage Therapy from International Master Teacher Tina Allen founder of Pediatric Massage Therapy at Bancroft School of Massage in Boston. 

 

This certification allows them to provide massage therapy for children with special health care needs, who are hospitalized or have been diagnosed with a terminal illness in hospice care or at home. Always desiring to know more in June of 2013 Brenda & Malisa completed advanced skills in Touch Therapy for kids with Autism & Cancer by Master Teacher Tina Allen in Orlando Florida at Central Florida School of Massage Therapy and also obtained another certification status CIMT (Certified Infant Massage Teacher) allowing them to teach healthcare professional, parents and caregivers on how to massage sick and healthy infants. In January of 2014 Brenda and Malisa became members of R.E.A.C.H Autism Foundation as their offical Massage Therapist. REACH is the Bahamas resource and Educational source for Autism and other related challenges in the Bahamas. A non-profit organization that provides parents with comprehensive knowledge and tools in all areas of this neurobiological disorder. 

 

Being knowledgeable about the practice of massage therapy in other countries, Malisa & Brenda realizing that the Bahamas does not regulate or treat the practice of massage therapy as a healthcare profession produced a document to be presented to the Ministry of Health stating the importance of Massage Therapy and why it should be legislated and regulated as a healthcare profession in the Bahamas. They have also documented and are presently formulating a Bahamas National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage (BNCBTM) so that person who are currently Massage Therpiast  with six years exeperience or more can be grand fathered as Certified Therapist and those graduating from local institutes can sit a national exam after completing the necessary course of study and be named and treated as a professional in the field of healthcare and Massage Therapy .