Our Practitioners
Josephine Onah, LMT
I am committed to helping alleviate pain and delivering a relaxing experience. I grew up in the DC area attending Northern Virginia School of Therapeutic Massage and George Mason University. I love doing deeper work and specialize in prenatal, therapeutic and sports massage. I love massage therapy because of its healing and preventative medicinal elements.
At The Healing Tree, Josephine specializes in the following massages:
Louise "Lou" Ott, LMT
Louise is a graduate of Potomac Massage Training Institute in Washington, DC and has been practicing massage therapy since 1996. She has continued to deepen her knowledge about massage therapy by studying sports, neuromuscular therapy and deep tissue massage techniques. Louise strives to combine her various skills and techniques optimally to benefit the unique needs of each client. In her spare time, Louise enjoys practicing yoga, enjoying the outdoors, gardening, reading, and spending time with her family.
At The Healing Tree, Louise specializes in the following massages:
Maryellen Thorp, LMT
Maryellen eased into her massage career in the mid 90's. Living in southern California and a certified personal trainer at the time, she became exposed to massage and bodywork. She began getting massage on a regular basis, and shortly after, decided that massage was a perfect career for her. She moved back east and attended AKS school of massage in Herndon, VA.
She no longer practices personal training but continues to draw on her years of work in that field to help clients who are dealing with pain and injuries reach. She loves working with moms to be and also helping those dealing with life challenges such as cancer and other illnesses. She lives in Del Ray and spends her free time reading, in the garden and with her children and family.
At the Healing Tree, Maryellen specializes in the following massages:
Master Yang, LMT
Kwang Yang, a Tae Kwon Do master, brings his wisdom of the body's structure and mechanics to his massage practice at The Healing Tree. His years of experience and understanding of the body through martial arts, energy work manifest during your massage with him as he works through tension and stresses in the muscle, tissue and joints.
Master Yang specializes in the following massages:
Betsy Martin, LMT
Betsy has been a bodyworker for 10 years, striving to keep people doing what they love to do--playing an instrument, rowing, climbing the stairs, or playing with their grandchildren! I graduated from The Potomac Massage Training Institute in DC and continue to learn massage techniques that I think will help alleviate the injury and stress issues that keep us from moving. My desire is to work with you to find the way that best allows your body to do the healing work it knows how to do. During a session, I will call upon various modalities as appropriate to encourage this healing environment – Swedish, Deep Tissue, Shiatsu, or Sports Therapies.
Betsy specializes in the following massages:
Ivana Psenicnik, LMT
Because of my love for weight lifting and a family history of Rheumatoid Arthritis, I’ve experienced lots of physical pain including joint stiffness and sometimes even completely unexplainable fatigues early in my life. After witnessing the anti-stress, analgesic and other benefits of massage therapy used in conjunction with essential oils firsthand, I decided to start my own holistic career in Massage Therapy. I completed my initial massage therapy studies in Croatia in 2005.
After moving to the United States and realizing I would need additional certification here, I enrolled and completed certification at the Everest College in San Jose, California. Hence a wonderful “double” training in massage therapy!
In each massage session, I combine a variety of massage techniques, customizing and fine tuning your massage with different techniques creating a unique massage tailored for your needs; often relaxation or energizing Swedish massage - to help increase the blood flow through your muscles - combined with Deep Tissue or/and Trigger Point Therapy - to focus on releasing specific patterns of tension and pain through your body.
If it’s not contraindicated due to your specific health condition, I pretty often team up with “Mother Nature” and boost the wellness of your body and soul by using appropriate essential oils.
Ivana specializes in the following massages:
