My Journy

Unfortunately, the majority of her work was based on one-way touch such as massage, and touch between mother and child. I was engaging in two way, or mutual touch

In 2018, I attended Cuddle Sanctuary’s Certified Professional Cuddler training. There I found the support and like-minded individuals I was looking for. Those people who understood the work and had thriving practices. I found support. I learned the anatomy of a session, I learned different types of nurturing positions. I learned the two models of consent! I engaged in open discussion about best practices and loved every moment of it.

Still as my practice grew, I had new questions and I wanted to learn more. I got certified in Neuro-Linguistic Program, Mindfulness Based Stressed Reduction, Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training, Mental Health First Aid and double certified in professional cuddling. I took countless course on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Advanced Training for Treatment of Complex PTSD and Deep vs Active Listening, Conscious Listening, Understanding & Developing Emotional Intelligence,

Now that I had all of this knowledge, I needed to find clients to buy my services. It was imperative that I learned how to create a market for my service both within my community (DC metro) and online. Again, I took courses on internet marketing, creating a sales funnel, and social media marketing.

The majority of my experience came from running an electrical contracting company where the market already existed, and the fact I was a woman in a male dominated industry meant I was noticed very quickly. The platonic touch industry was much different.

One tactic remained the same, get in front of people and become a spokes person for the industry. I took every opportunity to talk about professional cuddling. I quickly realized the word “cuddle” could be incredibly difficult for people to accept. So, I changed my title and add additional touch modalities into my practice. I then gave discussions at elementary schools, networking events, senior centers, women’s groups and most recently, starting Caring Conversation on busy pedestrian street corners. Anything and everything to get the word out about this special healing touch.

It was difficult at first, and people were very uncomfortable when I brought it up. But I did not let that deter me. I kept after it and no matter how many nos and “this will never work” and “just go back to running your construction company” and “stop talking about”, I pushed on.

I could see the positive impact platonic touch was having with my clients. I could see how they were doing things such as holding boundaries, asking for what they wanted and getting more comfortable with vulnerability. I saw the healing happening right before me and there was no turning back.