Bodywork in Italy

Can you tell us about your school ASSOTIBodyworks in Italy?

The main objective of the AssoTIBodyworks school is to prepare students with a concept of "Wellness Integrated Techniques " (TIB). Through a module-learning system, students can form Massage & Bodyworks, Gym & Bodyworks, Posturology, Anatomy and Physiology, Nutrition, First Aid & Occupational Safety NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming).

Our policy is to not to make course too much long and spread out, we try to condense the necessary one with the majority of the time dedicated to the practical one.

As I understand in Italy, massage or bodywork is not recognised as a formal training. Can you tell us the situation in Italy.

At the moment the (sad) situation is as you wrote. In fact there is not a regulation outside the university official courses. This creates much confusion, but above all to who suffer are the schools like ours, that they offer a high level of solid professionalities and scientific methodologies, but is not any professional acknowledgment for the students of the courses. Is a bit funny that almost the private schools teachers are PhD in Orthopedic, Osteopathic or Physiotherapy, so why is so hard get any professional acknowledgment? That’s the question!

So if I wanted to become a massage therapist or bodywork, how and where I can get the education?

You should become first physiotherapist in a university course, and then you have to attend to private courses for become a bodyworker (since during the physiotherapist formation you learn very very few about massage). In fact we have got a lot PhDs and Physiotherapists as students in our courses.

Is massage therapist or bodywork recognised as a profession?

Only if you have are graduate in Physiotherapy. The rest unfortunately don’t have any professional acknowledgment. You can work but under a very restrictive legal field about “service for the family and wellness” so as you can image that’s mean confusion due the hundreds typology of this service. We need a right rules with sharp field of action: massage therapist, massage no therapist for wellness, sports bodyworks no therapist, and so on. But the horizon is very foggy at moment.

How do you get your training in bodywork?

Our training are the continuous exchanges of experiences with the other wellness & sports-bodyworks schools. During own job with athletes and customers we development and research of new or other techniques and manipulations. The frequent contacts and the collaborations that we have with researchers and scientists into the Sport & Med field.

Who are mainly your clients?

As school all the common people want join in excitant world of wellness&sports bodyworks. Also a lot professions in medicine, sports and wellness trainers, athletes, coaches and so on.

About me I am a therapist and Postural operator, and my clients are mainly with injuries and postural problems

Do you have a collaboration with sports person?

Yes. As already answered is one of our goal get contacts with the athletes and who operating in sports field.

Does your work always deal with injuries and sports?

Yes, with include all problems linked, like postural diseases and loss of proprioceptive patterns. Our target is strictly related to operate in a total vision of the person and not only for the specific problem, our intent is watch people and athletes in their globality and then apply the best solution.

How about general bodywork e.g. for repetitive stress injuries or general relaxation?

In my personal experience our bodyworks technique can be very useful in both cases. Important is the scientific ground of the manualities and manipulations used during the TIBodyworks treatments.

How do you see the future of bodywork in Italy?

I think there will be a good chance for bodyworks to be an alternative to typical physiotherapist (and osteopaths) treatment, of course a regulation is necessary.

But the most important thing is the continuous upgrade in this field, don't be jealous about own techniques, but spread out for free articles, studies and researches about wellness and sports bodyworks.

I want spent few words about ASSOTIBodyworks collaborations with University and researcher groups, specially who work into the international fascial movement.

I and one of the teachers of the school have published many articles on national and international magazine and internet sites about wellness, sports bodyworks, and Sports& Med like yours.

AssoTIB

Giovanni Chetta Maurizio Ronchi

www.giovannichetta.it

The following are the links to AssoTIB photos of training courses: