Digital Commons Network^™

The Effect Of Massage Therapy On Decision Making Skills In First Responders, Lyanna A. Díaz

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Firefighters experience everyday trauma, (critical incidents), as part of their job responsibilities. Critical incident exposure, number of years firefighting, burnout, and disengagement coping were positively associated with posttraumatic stress symptoms (Sattler, Boyd, & Kirsch, 2014). Ideally, firefighters would participate in positive coping strategies like trauma-related psychotherapy, massage therapy, and engaging with healthy social supports (Yuan et al., 2010); however, this does not routinely happen and posttraumatic stress symptoms increase. Since trauma can affect the body, manipulating the skin and muscles helps to release tension (Huebscher, 1998). This study investigated the relationship between massage therapy and decision-making abilities of firefighters in …