Our Practitioners
Nurturing Hands has 4 therapists with over 75 years of experience, and an amazing array of skills and specialities.
Check out these gifted therapists!
Deby Van Ohlen, LMT
Deby’s work focuses on deep therapeutic relaxation with specific work on areas of stress or injury (rotator cuff, chronic neck pain, etc.) With over 20 years of experience, Deb approaches the session with many different techniques to find what is most effective for the client at that particular time.
She is an active member of the American Massage Therapy Association, and her Connecticut license number is 1389.
Deby is on the faculty at Asnuntuck Community College and continues to teach various workshops.
Wendy Payton, LMT
With over 35 years of experience, Wendy draws upon a myriad of different modalities and the thousands of hours in practice to create a customized and effective therapeutic massage session.
These modalities include Facial Rejuvenating Touch, Reflexology, Thai Herbal Ritual, Reiki, Pregnancy massage and many forms of therapeutic massage woven together to create an individualized session.
Wendy is a faculty member at the Cortiva Institute (formerly the Connecticut Center for Massage Therapy). She also teaches various workshops. Wendy is an active member of the AMTA and her Connecticut license number is 360. Wendy is also certified in spa work (ISPA) through her studies in the Czech Republic.
Nikki Arel, LMT
Nicole’s practice focuses on Thai massage and Thai Herbal Detox. She has studied both in Thailand and the United States and is certified in Thai massage.
Nikki’s massage work has been enriched by her practice and teaching of yoga. She has also gained international experience with her work on boutique cruise lines (where she has received rave reviews!).
Nicole teaches and assists Thai Massage classes and other workshops. She is an active member of the AMTA. Her Connecticut license number is 4433.
Mairi Harvey, LMT
Mairi specializes in manual lymphatic drainage, orthopedic massage and deep tissue/sports massage. She is a registered nurse with over 25 years of experience. Mairi integrates her extensive healthcare experience, her massage skills, and her caring client-focus to provide overall wellness as well as provide more specific work when needed during the session.
Mairi is an active member of the AMTA and her CT license number is 7855.