Massage Therapy and Alternative Therapies

In January of this year, Utah Health and Human Rights was awarded a VISTA position from the State Office of Refugee Services. UHHR’s full-time VISTA volunteer has developed a volunteer program that, in short time, has produced extraordinary results. Currently, UHHR engages five volunteer massage therapists who provide a total of eight massage therapy sessions each week to clients struggling with pain and tension related to their trauma. Massage therapy has proven enormously successful not only in alleviating physical pain but in increasing clients’ trust and receptivity to other therapeutic modalities, such as individual and group mental health services.  

Although regular, onsite, massage therapy is a relatively new program we are seeing that clients who partake of alternative therapies such as weekly massage and yoga, increase their self-sufficiency and become more engaged with their families and communities in less time than clients who choose not to receive massage or practice yoga.

Childcare Services

Utah Health and Human Rights’s clients also benefit from volunteer, onsite, childcare services.  The ease and convenience of onsite childcare enables client to keep their appointments and, consequently, make greater strides toward health and self-sufficiency.  Other volunteer client services include English language mentoring, legal advocacy, health education, transportation, and medical case management. In addition, three nurses volunteer to assist clients and physicians during our twice-monthly psychiatry clinic. Two volunteer physicians, trained by UHHR’s medical director, perform medical forensic examinations and prepare affidavits to support the claims of torture survivors seeking asylum.

Administrative Support

Utah Health and Human Rights also uses volunteers to increase the efficiency and cost effectiveness of its administrative operations; volunteers provide weekly clerical, data management, and secretarial support.

Volunteer Application

Interested in volunteer opportunities at Utah Health and Human Rights? Please tell us of your interest here.