For massage therapists, wherever you practice
The Partner Joint Method: A Nervous System Approach to Massage
Next course: Saturday, November 14, 2026, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Time, live online
Get more change with less force. Save your thumbs, wrists and shoulders, help the clients who brace against deep work, and show every client the difference before they get off the table.
- 8 hours self study
- 8 hours live online
- Open to therapists in any state
- With Matt DeWild, LMT, RN
Sound familiar?
You know these clients.
You have good hands and solid technique. Some bodies still hold on, pressing harder rarely changes that, and your own body pays for every extra pound of pressure.
- Thumbs, wrists and shoulders that ache at the end of a full day, and a career that depends on them
- Clients who want deeper and deeper pressure, and tissue that only braces harder
- An area so painful or guarded that direct work is not an option
- Range that improves on the table and is gone by the next visit
- Clients who love the massage but cannot say what changed, and rebook only when they feel like it
- A town full of therapists offering the same hour, and nothing that makes yours different
Every stroke, hold and stretch is also a message to a nervous system, and that nervous system decides how much range, ease and comfort your client is allowed to have today. This course teaches you to speak to it on purpose.
Why therapists take this course
Work easier. Get better results. Stand out.
Less strain on your body
The method changes how much the nervous system lets go, not how hard you push. Calming input, partner joint work and rhythmic movement do the work that deep pressure used to, so your hands last the day and the career.
Results your clients can see
Measure one sign, work, then retest. Your client watches the shoulder lift higher or the turn go further, in the same session, and you both know it worked.
The moment clients talk about
When you never touch the sore shoulder and it moves better on the retest, clients notice. That is the session they describe to their friends.
A method no one else in town offers
A named, six step session with a before and after measure sets you apart from every other massage. It gives clients a clear reason to choose you, and to send people to you.
Clients who come back
A measured change and a one minute home drill give each client something to keep, and a reason to return to see how far it goes.
Skills you use on Monday
Not filler hours. Every module ends in a technique, and the live day has you practicing the whole session with live feedback from Matt as you go.
What you will be able to do
More change, with less force, and proof you can see
Lower threat first
Settle the stress response at the start of a session, so tissue has less reason to brace and is ready to let go.
Work the partner joint
When direct work is too painful or guarded, work the joint the nervous system links to it: the matching joint on the other side, or the one on the diagonal.
Add rhythm and sensory input
Bring simple rhythmic movement and sensory input onto the table, using the coordination the body already relies on for walking.
Measure before and after
Pick one sign, measure it, work, then retest, so you and your client both see what changed.
Give one home drill
Send each client home with one short drill tied to something they already do each day, so the change has a better chance to last.
Explain it in plain words
Tell clients what you are doing and why, accurately and with confidence, without overstating the science.
Regulate. Integrate. Optimize.
The six step Partner Joint Session
Everything in the course feeds one repeatable session. It follows Regulate, Integrate, Optimize, the principles behind all of the work at Integrated Functional Health.
- 01
Screen
Intake, red flags, scope of practice and consent, before any hands on work.
- 02
Measure
Choose one sign, measure it twice and record the second, so your starting point is reliable.
- 03
Regulate
One or two calming techniques, 1 to 3 minutes, to lower threat and soften guarding.
- 04
Integrate
Partner joint work, rhythmic movement or sensory input, 2 to 5 minutes per round.
- 05
Retest
Measure the same sign again, and let the result decide what you do next.
- 06
Optimize
One home drill of about a minute, linked to a daily habit, so the client keeps the change.
The science behind it
The nervous system drives the change
Muscle tone, guarding, range of motion and pain are all set by the nervous system. When it senses threat, it tightens and protects. When it feels safe, it lets go. That is why the same shoulder can move freely one day and lock up the next, with no change in the tissue itself.
Research on manual therapy points the same way: much of what massage changes, it changes through the nervous system. Touch, pressure and movement are signals. The right ones calm the stress response, turn down protective tone and change how the brain reads pain.
The Partner Joint Method puts that to work on purpose. You calm the system first, then speak to it the way it already organizes movement: through linked joints, left and right, arms and legs, rhythm and the senses. Then you measure, so you and your client both see what changed.
How the course works
Two parts, one bundle, 16 hours
The course is sold only as one bundle: you take both parts, and together they give you 16 hours.
Part A
Self study in the IFH online portal: 8 hours
- Eight online modules, each with three lessons, a guided self practice and a short worksheet
- A knowledge check at the end of every module
- A 40 question final post test, 70 percent to pass, with retakes allowed
- Your certificate is issued automatically when you complete it
- The Brain Based Lens
- Regulate: The Nervous System on the Table
- Arms, Legs and the Nervous System
- Left and Right: Crossed Effects
- The Partner Joint Map
- Integrate: Senses and Coordination
- Clinical Reasoning: The Partner Joint Session
- Optimize: Carry Over and Your Own Evidence
Part B
Live online, in real time: 8 hours
- One hands on day in a live online classroom, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central Time (Eastern 9 to 6, Mountain 7 to 4, Pacific 6 to 3)
- Real time and interactive, with your camera on, so you get feedback on your technique as you practice
- Hands on labs for every technique, with a practice partner at home
- A full Partner Joint Session practiced from Screen to Optimize, with documentation
- Saturday, November 14, 2026: your joining details come to you by email
Please finish Modules 1 to 4 before the live day. Modules 5 to 8 may be done before or after.
Wherever you practice
Take it for your clients. The hours come with it.
The Partner Joint Method is open to massage therapists in every state, and the live day is online, so you can join from anywhere. Therapists take it for what it changes at the table: hands that last the day, clients who see the difference before they get up, and a session no one else in town offers.
Each part comes with a certificate stating its contact hours. Continuing education rules differ from state to state, so check with your state's massage board to confirm how these hours count for you.
Licensed in Iowa? The course was built to meet Iowa's rule (481 IAC 823) and supplies the full 16 renewal hours: 8 live and 8 self study with a post test. Mandatory reporter training is the one piece it does not include; it comes only from Iowa HHS, free of charge.
Your instructor
Matt DeWild, LMT, RN
Matt is a Licensed Massage Therapist and Registered Nurse with over 30 years in healthcare. He founded Advanced Soft Tissue Health Solutions in Davenport in 2010. As he brought more nervous system techniques into his work and expanded the clinic, it became Integrated Functional Health in Bettendorf, Iowa, where his work centers on the nervous system, pain and movement. He takes a holistic approach that connects mind and body through the nervous system, bridging the gap between the medical model and whole person care.
He built The Partner Joint Method to give massage therapists a clear, measurable way to bring brain based work to the table.
Enroll
Everything you get
The Partner Joint Method self study course
Eight online modules, 8 hours, a final post test and your certificate
Value $147
Live online hands on day with Matt
8 hours in real time, hands on labs, feedback on your technique as you practice, the participant workbook and your certificate
Value $297
The Partner Joint Practice Kit
11 printable sheets: the session card, the partner joint map, a measure and retest record, a red flags and referral guide, a client explainer and six home drill handouts to give clients from day one
Value $47
Bonus
Marketing for Massage Therapists
Matt's online course on filling your schedule, keeping clients coming back and building income beyond the table, free when you enroll
Value $97
Total value $588
Regular price $297
$197
Limited seats at this price.
About $12 an hour for 16 hours of training. If it brings back one client who would not have rebooked, it has paid for itself.
Sold as one bundle. Live online day: Saturday, November 14, 2026, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central Time.
Questions
Questions about the course
Who is this course for?
Massage therapists in any state who want a clear, measurable way to help guarded, painful or stuck areas let go. The live day is online, so you can join from wherever you practice. Bodyworkers, physical therapy assistants, athletic trainers and movement professionals also find it useful.
Will it count toward my continuing education?
Each part comes with a certificate stating its contact hours: 8 hours of live, real time interactive instruction and 8 hours of self study with a post test. Every state sets its own continuing education rules, so check with your state's massage board to confirm how these hours count for you.
I am licensed in Iowa. Does it cover my renewal hours?
Iowa licensed massage therapists need 16 hours every two years, with at least 8 of them live (in person or live, real time interactive), and self study must include a posttest (481 IAC 823). This course supplies the full 16 hours: 8 live and 8 self study with a 40 question post test.
Mandatory reporter training is separate. Iowa requires it every three years, and it comes only from Iowa HHS, free of charge. Its hours may also count toward your 16. Your first renewal after licensing is exempt from continuing education. The Iowa board does not preapprove courses; each licensee chooses courses that meet the rule and keeps the certificates.
Can I buy the self study or the live day on its own?
No. The course is sold as one bundle, both parts together, because the live day builds on the self study and the two parts together give the full 16 hours.
When is the live online class?
The first live online class is Saturday, November 14, 2026, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central Time, with breaks and lunch. That is Eastern 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Mountain 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Pacific 6:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. When you enroll, your joining details come to you by email.
Do I need a partner for the live day?
Yes. Plan to have a practice partner at home for the hands on labs, such as a family member, friend or colleague. You also need a camera that shows your work and a stable internet connection, and your camera stays on through the day.
What if I miss part of the live day?
Full attendance earns the live certificate. If you miss more than 15 minutes in total across the day, the live certificate cannot be issued, and partial credit is not given. A recording of the live day never counts as live hours.
How do the certificates work?
Each part earns its own certificate. The self study certificate is issued automatically when you complete the eight modules, pass the 40 question final post test with 70 percent or higher (retakes are allowed) and complete the course evaluation. The live certificate is issued for full attendance and the course evaluation. Keep your certificates and course materials for four years in case you are selected for audit.
Should I finish the self study before the live day?
Please finish Modules 1 to 4 before the live day, because the live day builds on that science. Modules 5 to 8 may be done before or after.
Your next step
Less force. Better results. Clients who notice.
One clear method your hands will thank you for, a before and after measure you can show every client, and a session your clients will talk about.