massage
therapy professionals, ltd.
Massage
Therapy Professionals, Ltd.
The
Corporation
- Massage Therapy Professionals, Ltd. is a Limited Liability
Company (LLC) providing on-site massage therapy services including
chair and table massage. Our massage therapists are members of
the
American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA). Membership in the
AMTA
requires the appropriate level of professional training in massage
therapy and
adherance to professional and ethical principles.
President & Massage Therapist
Michael
J. Patrick, A.S., NCTMB, LMT (Ohio)
Michael
has earned an Associate
in Science Degree in Massage Therapy from Community College of
Allegheny County, Allegheny Campus and graduated in 2006 with highest
honors. He participated as a massage
therapist in a pilot study on the addition of chair massage to the
management of diabetes as part of externship experience in conjunction
with the Kingsley Association Community Center and the Healthy Hearts
& Souls program. He has been a member of the American Massage
Therapy Association since July 2005.
Michael has taken an
interesting path in his professional life:
In addition to being a massage therapist, he also earned a Master's
Degree in Analytical Chemistry from Youngstown State University in
1994. He has worked in the field of fluorescent dye chemistry for
over 12 years. He was employed from 1995-2001 by Amersham
Biosciences (now a part of GE Healthcare) where he manufactured and
analyzed fluorescent CyDyes. This lead to a 3 year assignment in
Cardiff, Wales, UK where he trained personnel to manufacture the dyes
and did additional process development. Living in Wales was an
exciting and enjoyable adventure.
He
concurrently enjoys a career in research chemistry at the Molecular
Biosensor & Imaging Center (Carnegie Mellon University) where he is
currently synthesizing voltage-sensitive fluoresent dyes for use in
studying cardiac physiology. He has worked at CMU since 2002 and
has had academic research published recently in the Journal of Membrane
Biology (Vol. 208, p125-140, 2005).
Research
Chemistry and Massage Therapy appear to be diametrically opposed,
however both require dedication, creativity and the ability to react to
what is observed, or in the case of massage therapy, palpated.
Work in both fields complements the other -- his analytical approach
has allowed him to engage his mind along with his intuitive abilities
in massage therapy. In turn, the relaxation techniques and
increased body awareness have made him more effective as a researcher,
allowing for the ability to better manage stressful deadlines.
Massage therapy is
something that has been with Michael all of his life. As a child
he used to massage his father's feet and walk on his back to alleviate
Dad's aches and pains. This continued over the years as he
casually massaged close friends as his contribution to making their
lives better and providing the positive reassurance that physical
contact does. It became evident to Michael that he could utilize
these innate skills to help others outside his immediate circle.
He decided to persue a second career in massage therapy and received
proper training through CCAC's respected Massage Therapy Degree
Program. Michael earned national certification in massage therapy
and bodywork (NCMTB) in 2006.
Michael formed Massage
Therapy Professionals in late 2005 as a Sole Proprietorship. In
Feb 2007, he changed the structure to a Limited Liability Company,
expanding the name to Massage Therapy Professionals, Ltd. Michael
is the president of the corporation and a talented massage therapist.
Our Skilled Massage Therapists
Maria Hancock
- Maria is a graduate of Community
College of Allegheny County, Associate in Science in Massage Therapy
degree. She graduated with high honors. She is also a level
one Reiki Practitioner. She started practicing massage in the
summer of 2005, taking her table or chair to clients homes.
Maria chose massage therapy because she believes that touch has such
has so many
wonderful benefits and we do not touch enough in our culture. She
loves to use positive energy to help people. She also
has experience in the Medical Field, graduating from ICM School of
Business with a Medical Assisting certificate, also with high
honors. She has worked as a Phlebotomist for three years and as a
Dialysis Technician for six years for Allegheny General Hospital.
Killeen Martinez
- Killeen credits her love of massage therapy to the enjoyment
she gets from a job well done and exploring the many avenues life has
to offer. Her background includes working as a freelance writer
and her pieces have been featured in Pittsburgh City Paper,
Pittsburgh's E Resource, and The Checkerboard. While serving in
the U.S. Army Reserves Killeen received the Army's prestigious Keith L.
Ware Journalism Award for her article, "Women in the Armed
Forces."
Handwriting Analysis is another one of Killeen's interests.
She has had the pleasure of providing her talents to several high
profile companies including the Pittsburgh Pirates, Alcoa Corporation,
and McDonald's Restaurant. Her reputation as a Handwriting
Analyst also earned her a spot as a featured guest on Star 100.7's
morning show with John, J.R. & Kate. Killeen is working
toward completing her associate degree in massage therapy and is
scheduled to meet all of the requirements by December 2006. She
enjoys massage because she reognizes that everyone has some amount of
stress or a health concern in his or her life. Rather than
seeking an unnatural form of relief, massage can bring an overall sense
of peace and wellness to a person's life.
Diane Barbin
- Diane has entered massage therapy as a second career, after
retiring from AT&T with 30 years of service. She became
interested in massage therapy and earned a Certificate in Massage
Therapy form CCAC, graduating with Highest Honors. Diane enjoys
perfoming massage much more than working behind the desk. She
loves seeing the effect of her work on clients, evidenced by the
transformation of stress to relaxation on their faces. Family
life is very important to Diane and she takes great pride in cheering
her son on at soccer games. Diane plans to further her education in
massage therapy. She believes learning new modalities will help
not only her clients but also herself. She has found a renewed
purpose in life and passes it on to her clients.
Bob Eich
- Bob comes to us with over fifteen years of experience in the
medical field. He attended the Community College of Allegheny
County, where he obtained a Certificate in Medical Assisting, as
well as a Certificate in Massage Therapy and an Associate Degree in
Science in General Studies. He is also a Level I Reiki Practitioner.
Bob became oriented towards massage therapy after many years of
experiencing the importance of the human touch in the healing
process, as well as witnessing the healing powers of the ancient
Japanese healing art of Reiki. Bob is currently employed in the
Emergency Department of Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh,
PA. He is a member of AMTA
Janet Dreher, NCMTB
- After experiencing a sense of peace and well-being after her
first massage, Jan enrolled in a weekend course, “Massage for Friends
and Family” at The Pittsburgh School of Massage Therapy (PSMT).
She enjoyed the class tremendously, and after much soul-searching and
prayer, left her 27 year career in the financial world. She
enrolled as a full time student at PSMT in 2000 and has never looked
back!! Jan completed the 616 hour program, and graduated in
October 2001. Jan is the sole practitioner of a private practice
in Marshall Township. She incorporates Swedish (relaxation)
massage, deep tissue massage, and Muscle Release Technique TM,
as appropriate, to meet the unique needs her clients. She is also
certified in Pregnancy Massage and Lypossage TM. Jan is a
professional member of the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA);
Secretary for the Southwestern Unit of the AMTA Pennsylvania Chapter;
Co-Chair for Membership of the AMTA Pennsylvania Chapter; and was the
Awards Chair for the AMTA Pennsylvania Chapter from 2004-2006.
Jan earned national certification in massage therapy and bodywork
(NCMTB) in 2002.
Cathy Niccolai
- Cathy has worked with MTPs Ltd since 2006 and is a member of
AMTA
Nicole Puckett
- Nicole has worked with MTPs since 2006 and is a member of
AMTA.
Jill Herman
- Inspired by a massage therapist and dear friend at a former
design job, Jill Herman entered massage therapy for a change in life’s
path. Massage has literally changed Jill’s life on many levels.
She seeks to spread positive energy and well-being to all of her
clients. Through her training at the Pittsburgh School of Massage
Therapy, she has obtained 763 hours of training and plans to keep this
going through continuing education. She started her private
massage business in July of 2007 in Greensburg, PA. Before doing
massage, Jill was a designer with a Bachelor of Science in Interior
Design from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She still holds
an interest in Universal design. Jill taught cardio kickboxing
classes for several years after becoming an Aerobics and Fitness
Association of America certified cardio kickboxing instructor in
2004. Jill is a member of AMBP.
Evan Ruby
- Evan began in the field of massage therapy by simply giving back
rubs to his friends and family. After being told numerous times
that he possessed natural ability, he decided to follow through with
the advice to go for professional massage training. The more he
learned and perfected his craft, Evan grew more certain that massage
was part of his life's purpose. He graduated from CCAC in May
2008 with an Associate in Science Degree in Massage Therapy.
Through his training he has become very proficient in chair massage and
Swedish table massage. He continually works to further his
knowledge in different areas of massage therapy so he can better
accommodate each and every one of his clients. He loves what he
does and is certain to have a positive effect on his clients, as well
as the world of massage therapy. Evan is a Professional member of
the American Massage Therapy Association.