Recognizing the importance of training massage therapists in pain and palliative care, Heart Touch has been collaborating with Pain and Palliative health care professionals since 2015 and designed one of the most comprehensive Pain and Palliative Care programs for the Massage Therapy field.

Heart Touch is proud to offer the first Pain and Palliative Specialty Program Certification in the nation. Massage therapists that complete the Pain and Palliative curriculum will become eligible for a Specialty Certificate in Pain and Palliative Care through the The Heart Touch Project Specialty Exam. With this credential, therapists are empowered to provide these critical massage services to individuals in a hospital and hospice settings.

Why the role of the MassageTherapists in the Pain and Palliative Care field is becoming more important is the Joint Commission Report on the Opioid Crisis. The R3 (Requirement, Rationale, Reference) Report details the need for hospitals to provide non-pharmacologic strategies for pain. Massage therapy and Mind-Body practices being listed as a viable options.  This report went into effect January 2018.