When people hear 'massage,' they think of something that feels nice, and the specialized techniques that Joanna uses generally do. The work that she does goes so far beyond that though. She has a deep knowledge of the body and nervous system. The craniosacral therapy she used on my son when he was a child gently released the trauma he'd been carrying as an unrecognized memory in his body and nervous system.
I escaped my abusive husband in the middle of the night when my son was only thirteen weeks old. Hours earlier, my husband had grabbed my arm and thrown me around against the walls and door in our entryway, screaming incoherent words of rage.
Our infant son was in my other arm. It is the single most terrifying memory of my life.
They say babies can't remember what happens to them when they're that young. This is only partly true. My son has no conscious memories of the things that happened. The violence from his first weeks of life affected him though, and the evidence was in his art.
When he drew a person, the left side of the body--the side of his body that was towards his father whenever he attacked us--was always drawn up and guarded. There was always a perfectly reasonable explanation, a foot up on a tree stump, a hand holding a sword or Hobbit-style pipe, but always, that side of the body was in a defensive position.
Good counselling can work wonders, and I'm so thankful to the counsellors who helped me along with Joanna's healing touch. But how does a child counsel his way out of something he has no memory of? How do you counsel your way out of trauma carried in your body? Therapeutic massage, in the hands of a trained, skilled, and compassionate practitioner, is a healing tool that works even when words fall short.
My son is grown now, and he and his wife are expecting a son of their own. He's a loving and gentle husband, and he'll be a loving and gentle father. At six foot four, he stands as straight and tall and confident as the images he drew became. I will forever be grateful to Joanna for the role she played in helping to heal the trauma he experienced in the early days of his life, so that he could become the man he is today.
Thank you, and God Bless you, Joanna!!!
- Mrs. A. H.