Overview of Online Courses
Online Full-Format Classes:
-Foundations in Manual Therapy: Voice and Swallowing Disorders
-Foundations in Manual Therapy: Advanced Voice and Swallowing Disorders – Online Course
-Balancing the Body – Online Course (all of the above three are ASHA and NCBTMB-approved)
-Whole Body Online Course (NCBTMB and CE Broker Florida Massage Therapist approved)
-Foundations in Manual Therapy: Oral Motor Dysfunction
Multiple Course Bundles:
-The 2-course Bundle includes the Balancing the Body and Advanced Voice and Swallowing Disorders online courses. This bundle is ideal for those who have completed the Introductory Foundations in Manual Therapy: Voice and Swallowing Disorders class in person or online. All are ASHA CEU and NCBTMB CE-approved. (Details and link below)
The 3-course Bundle includes Introductory Foundations in Manual Therapy: Voice and Swallowing Disorders, Balancing the Body, and Advanced Voice and Swallowing Disorders. It is ideal for the new learner interested in this work. All are ASHA CEU and NCBTMB CE-approved. (Details and link below)
Online Short-Format Deeper Dive Classes:
-Tongue Tips
-A Look at Manual Therapy with Voice and Swallowing (Free, with ASHA CEUs)
-The Neck
-The Diaphragm Region – Manual Therapy Ideas
-A Look Into Manual Therapy with Dysphagia
-“What’s Your Beef with MFR?” (Free)
-Shared Decision-Making in the Manual Therapy Setting: Letting Go of Control (free)
Offered are two distinct course lines.
- Voice and Swallowing Disorders classes (Introductory, Balancing the Body, and Advanced Voice and Swallowing Disorders). This coursework has a target audience of SLPs/Voice Professionals, SLPAs, Massage Therapists, Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, and other appropriately licensed health professionals. The Foundations in Manual Therapy: Voice and Swallowing Disorders Online Courses has a recommended progression. All learners should begin with the Introductory Voice and Swallowing Disorders class (online or live), regardless of the degree of prior manual therapy experience. Next, the Balancing the Body class offers a broader look at using manual therapy to influence issues of voice, swallowing, breathing, postural control, oral motor issues, and tongue-related problems. Finally, the Advanced Voice and Swallowing Disorders class deepens technique acquisition and working from the shared decision-making perspective. This Voice and Swallowing Disorders coursework is offered singly or bundled as a reduced-rate 2 or 3-course package. The 2-course bundle is found here, while the 3-course bundle is here.
- Comprehensive Whole Body Online Course. This coursework has a target audience of Massage Therapists, Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Osteopaths, and other professionals. It allows the professional to discover new approaches to whole-body manual therapy from the shared decision-making perspective.
- Foundations in Manual Therapy: Oral Motor Dysfunction.
The Foundations in Manual Therapy: Voice and Swallowing Disorders Online Courses series and the Comprehensive Whole Body Online Course are intended for different audiences; many lessons presented in one series are repeated in the other series.
Historically, manual therapy, myofascial release, vocal massage, laryngeal manipulation, and other forms of manual care are often stated as a means to eliminate or improve a tissue, postural, or biomechanically-based problem. Patients and clinicians often share these perspectives, reinforced by education models and social media 30-second sound bites. However, every person’s case is complex. When high muscle tension is used to explain laryngeal problems, what drives that tension? A nearly unlimited number of contributing factors set the issue in place, and an equally complex tapestry of factors contributes to the successful remediation of the problem. These courses take you down this rabbit hole of complexity, allowing you to see the myriad possibilities for impact and creating comfort in not knowing. Though this last statement may seem contradictory, knowing more often means admitting uncertainty. Filling the void left by not knowing is the therapeutic alliance and understanding how successfully applying its principles can drive intervention success.
1. Foundations in Manual Therapy: Voice and Swallowing Disorders Online Course v. II. (Introductory class, ABIQ 2013)
- If you purchased the previous version of this course, you will receive a complimentary upgrade to this new class.
This course will introduce the learner to the evidence/science behind the Foundations Approach and offer the full content of the in-person Voice and Swallowing Disorders Seminar. In the context of voice and swallowing disorders, this course explains the patient-centered manual therapy approach utilized in all foundations in manual therapy seminars. It also works through the body, from the diaphragm region through the upper chest, laryngeal-hyoid complex, mouth, and tongue regions, discussing and demonstrating a wide range of intervention strategies. While it is impossible to tutor you through hands-on work via hands-on assistance, this course comes as close as possible to this process, allowing the clinician to open the door to using this work in their practice. The course features a combination of actual seminar footage supplemented by studio sequences (seminar footage contained in the addendum.) ASHA CEUs and NCBTMB CEs are approved. Approval for other disciplines that can self-submit for CEU approval via embedded resources.
All Foundations Seminars Online Courses have no time limitation on your ability to view and review any course.
Link to Introductory Voice and Swallowing Disorders Course description and registration
2. Foundations in Manual Therapy: Balancing the Body (Level II, ABIQ 2014)
A foundational course for implementing manual therapy for postural and body alignment concerns as part of the treatment plan for voice, swallowing, and related disorders, including hands-on training for specific interventions. The approach is presented from a shared decision-making perspective. This course is intended to be taken after the Introductory class. ASHA CEUs and NCBTMB CEs are approved. Approval for other disciplines that can self-submit for CEU approval via embedded resources.
All Foundations Seminars Online Courses have no time limitation on your ability to view and review any course.
Link to Balancing the Body Online Course description and registration
3. Foundations in Manual Therapy: Advanced Voice and Swallowing Disorders (Level III, ABIQ 2015)
This class refines and deepens the information in the Introductory and Balancing the Body courses, introducing new material, deepening existing techniques, and bolstering the patient-clinician dialoguing to maximize shared decision-making. This course is intended to be taken after the Introductory class. ASHA CEUs and NCBTMB CEs are approved. Approval for other disciplines that can self-submit for CEU approval via embedded resources.
All Foundations Seminars Online Courses have no time limitation on your ability to view and review any course.
NOTE: No matter the level of training and experience, the learner is advised against beginning this coursework through the Advanced class. This Advanced class has little context without having the material presented in the Introductory class. Questions? Send an email.
Link to Advanced Voice and Swallowing Disorders Online Course description and registration
The classes above are available at reduced-cost bundles:
a. Bundle 1: All three classes listed above can be purchased for $550 (save $100 off the individually priced courses).
b. Bundle 2: For those who completed the Introductory Voice and Swallowing Disorders course (in-person or online), you can get the Balancing the Body, and Advanced Voice and Swallowing courses bundled for $375, a $75 savings. These bundles may be found here.
4. Deeper Dives: A Look at Manual Therapy for Voice and Swallowing – Free class with ASHA CEUs (ABIQ 2017)
A brief introductory online course for introducing the learner to how manual therapy can be utilized within the framework of the SLP’s clinical encounters. After completing this online course, the learner will understand the historical and current inclusion of manual therapy for related disorders in the SLP literature and experience self-guided hands-on examples of the work.
This will be a live Zoom broadcast, with questions and feedback encouraged. The recorded class will be available here if you cannot make the course live. 0.1 ASHA CEUs will be approved. There is a quiz at the conclusion of the short course.
Learning Objectives
After successful completion of this online class, the therapist will:
Be able to explain the historical roots of manual therapy in the SLP literature.
Be able to describe the disorders that may be amenable to manual therapy intervention.
Instructional Methods
There is a 2-question quiz after the online course that the learner must pass with a grade of 100%
Timed Agenda
10-minutes: Introduction of the history of manual therapy and appropriate diagnoses.
10-minutes: Comparison of shared decision-making vs. the clinician-as-expert model of manual therapy
40-minutes: Hands-on experiences
1.0 total instructional hours
Disclosures
Walt Fritz has the following relevant financial relationship to disclose: he receives royalties from similar course content delivered through Medbridge Massage and TalkTools. He has no relevant nonfinancial relationships to disclose. There are no content disclosures; financial/in-kind disclosures may exist and will be stated for each live seminar.
Target Audience
Intended for SLPs/Voice Professionals, SLPAs, Massage Therapists, Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, and other appropriately licensed health professionals.
This FREE class will air live on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, at 12:30 pm EST and will be 60 minutes long. It will available in a recorded fashion for those who cannot make the live event. You must pass the 2-question quiz to receive the ASHA CEUs.
Click here to register for this free course
5. Foundations in Manual Therapy Whole Body Online Course
A comprehensive foundational course for implementing manual therapy from the context of the massage therapist, physical therapist, occupational therapist, and others with similar interests. This course teaches a slow, sustained style of manual therapy from a shared decision-making perspective. Head-to-toe issues and perspectives are covered, with a course manual that guides the learner through understanding an approach that differs from most models.
How is this class different? Simply put, this class teaches us how to set aside our ego and listen to our patients. The work I use with patients and teach to professionals relies less on my expertise and more on the values and perspectives of the patient (shared decision-making). I use and teach a style of work visibly recognizable as MFR, which will provide comfort for some. However, instead of teaching you to be a fascia expert, I work to create in you a curious partner in therapeutic relationships. The core concepts of my approach are transferrable to any model of massage or manual therapy. On the one hand, this is complex work, as it will stretch you out of your comfort zone. On the other hand, engaging in shared decision-making is simple: we are experts and well-trained, but we know nothing about our patient’s/client’s lived experiences (until we include them in the process). The class includes a comprehensive downloadable guide to this approach, which will help you understand why I feel a different approach to manual care is warranted.
There are 69 video modules in this course, defined by:
Chapter 1: The head
Chapter 2: The neck and shoulders
Chapter 3: The arms and shoulders
Chapter 4: The torso and back
Chapter 5: The hips and leg
Chapter 6: Teaching self-treatment
NCBTMB has approved the course for 7.5 CEs and by CE Broker for Florida Massage Therapists.
Link to Foundations in Manual Therapy Whole Body Online Course description and registration
A free preview of this Whole Body class can be viewed here.
6. Foundations in Manual Therapy: Oral Motor Dysfunction (Full-length course)
Course Description
This non-credit class teaches manual therapy for oral motor issues. Included is a complete introduction to the evidence behind this shared decision-making approach. Note: Material is duplicated from the Introductory Voice/Swallowing class. The course cost is $100.00
Link to the Foundations in Manual Therapy: Oral Motor Dysfunction Online course.
Deeper Dives: One-Hour Short Courses
This new monthly series will explore topics of interest to the SLP, voice professional, Orofacial Myofunctional professional, MT, PT, OT, and others. All will be presented live and include hands-on content. They will also be available for viewing at a later date.
All Foundations Seminars Online Courses have no time limitation on your ability to view and review any course. You can explore the Deeper Dives offerings here.
Complaints
If you have concerns or complaints, please email us from the “Contact” link in the top menu bar. Please include the best way to contact you and we will reply within one week. Our goal is to provide quality continuing education to all, and your concerns will be addressed and a solution made towards that end. Once a complaint is received and rectified to your satisfaction, we will ensure that gaps noted in our programs are addressed, with modifications made to ensure the issue does not reoccur.
Full Range of Instructional and Information Videos on YouTube
General Videos
For a deeper look at the
Foundations in Manual Therapy: Voice and Swallowing Disorders Seminar,
please read the White Paper available here.
To view a wide range of Podcasts, click here.
Instructional and Self Help Videos
Below is a sampling of the video content found on my YouTube channel. While every disorder or area of the body is not covered, having your patients (or yourself) view the presentations and how the treatment and self-stretch is applied should allow you and them to generalize to other areas of the body. Click on any of the videos to be taken to the YouTube channel. Dig deep and find video content to meet the interests of the SLP, MT, PT, and OT.
Click here to view the entire range of videos that support the Voice and Swallowing Seminar
Shielded Work: Must We Always Work Directly on the Skin?
21 Questions: Manual Therapy for voice and swallowing disorders
Internal views of the laryngeal region when manual therapy is externally applied
Taking traditional techniques and modifying them to better suit your patient populations
Another view of manual therapy application
How a patient-centered model might look
Riffs and Mods on Neck Manual Therapy
Teaching skepticism, reasons to engage the tongue, and that odd omohyoid
Lumbar lift (older video)
Treatment of the foot, The Foot Sandwich (older video)
Lower abdominal region treatment
(older video)
Leveling the landscape of the posterior thorax (older video)
Seated shoulder drape (older video)
Intra-oral treatment to the lateral jaw region
Therapeutic taping simplified
Lumbar traction
Anterior neck
Occipital lift
Upper thoracic region (2)
A synopsis of Walt Fritz, PT’s approach to manual care
Anterior shoulder/intercostal region
Instructional Videos
Below are a few examples of the instructional content I’ve shared through the YouTube channel. For more information, click on any of the videos below to be taken to YouTube.
A Sample session, evaluation and treatment
Doing nothing: How to begin
Upper thoracic region
SELF HELP VIDEOS
Lumbar traction (alternate version)
Self-treatment to the lower thoracic region
Self-treatment to the jaw and face
Self-treatment to the general neck region
The Foundations Approach Online CE Courses through Medbridge Massage
Eight video courses on The Foundations Approach to Myofascial Release are available through Medbridge Massage. Though older, these videos provide the therapist a solid understanding of the beginnings of my patient-centered model of care. The eight video courses include
Bridging the Gap: An Introduction to the Foundations Approach
The Cervical Region
The Anterior Cervical and TMJ Regions
The Shoulder Region
Upper Extremities
The Thoracic Region
The Lumbar and Pelvic Regions
Lower Extremities
All have CEUs available for Massage Therapists across the United States. Medbridge Massage has been the leading provider of quality online continuing education training for physical therapists, occupational therapists, and athletic trainers for a number of years and have just released their new Massage Series. Medbridge has made available a special offer; one full year of unlimited access to the full range of Foundations in Myofascial Release Approach Courses, as well as all of the other quality massage CE trainings for $49 (regularly $149), but you must use the following code: FRITZmassage
You can view the Medbridge Massage Foundations Approach Trainings, and take advantage of the special discount, by clicking here.
