A coin, with different impressions on its two sides, is still only one coin, which is a blend of precious metals. When the coin is tossed to reveal either heads or tails—the visible symbol is merely an interpretation of the imprint on the whole. Jessica E. Chasen, founder of The Helping Touch Massage and Wellness Center in Voorhees, has been educated in both sides of medicine—conventional and alternative. The selection of one—alternative—most suits her interpretation of health and wholeness.

Chasen gave up her 10-year career as a hospital pharmacist to be a stay-at-home mom and raise her two children. “My children weren’t the only reason I set aside a prosperous career,” says Chasen. “Intuitively, the longer I worked as a hospital pharmacist, the more that I felt as though patients needed more than medications to ease their symptoms,” says Chasen.

When Chasen’s children became self-sufficient, she began researching a career in massage. “I had experienced many health benefits of massage for several of my own physical issues and as a result, I determined that I wanted to explore it as a career,” advises Chasen, who chose the Massage Arts Center in Philadelphia because it had a stronger medical focus. “Because of my medical background, it was easy for me to see massage therapy’s role as an extension of physical therapy,” says Chasen, who opened her business in 2006 after becoming a national board certified massage therapist. Initially, she traveled locally to work with individuals in their home but quickly realized that she needed a permanent location. “I knew that if I had my own location, I could take care of my clients in a more efficient way and provide additional therapies such as heat/cold treatments while keeping my medicinal creams, ointments and lotions in one place,” explains Chasen. In 2007, she found the perfect setting in Sheppard Office Park and oversaw the building of the wellness center, which provides a bridge between the sterile setting of a medical office and the expensive spa options for people searching for therapeutic massage and integrative wellness services.

Chasen opened up the center in February 2008 and began to focus on deep tissue-based Swedish massage in addition to myofascial release and craniosacral therapies as well as positional stretching and

isolated stretching as needed. “Just as I did then, I still customize treatments for each client,” advises Chasen, whose clientele and reputation has grown. “By word of mouth, patients and other therapists learned about the center. As a result, Melisa Skyrm, a nationally Board Certified Acupuncturist and massage therapist, who specializes in Tui Na (Chinese Medical Massage) was the first to join our staff,” says Chasen, who advises that since opening the center, three more massage therapists and a clinical oncology esthetician work out of the center.
“Although many of our clients love to refer to us as a hidden gem, we’ve been around long enough to be recognized in the community and as a result, we get many referrals from not just our clients but physicians as well,” says Chasen, who loves being part of the “Helping Touch” that her clients need.

The Helping Touch Massage and Wellness Center, 2 Sheppard Rd., Ste 500, Voorhees 08043. Call 856-489-1500 or visit HelpingTouchMassage.com.