Dr. Pasqua, Class of '47

Valerio Pasqua was just nineteen, back from an Army tour of duty in Germany, and eager to learn. Helped by the G.I. bill, which would cover the cost of any licensed school in his state, he chose the Swedish Institute School of Physiotherapy in New York City. The year was 1946.

"Theodore Melander was the director of the school at that time," Pasqua recalled. "He was an exciting person, you felt electricity around him right away. He spoke with a beautiful Swedish accent, and his lectures were mesmerizing. I remember them to this day. He taught the philosophy of physiotherapy-which included massage, a system of physical exercises, hydrotherapy, and use of other devices like heat lamps and myostimulators."

Captain Melander was the founder of the Swedish Institute in 1916. At that time the school offered a year-long course that prepared a student to become a physiotherapist. The school day was 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., with classes in the morning and work in a hospital in the afternoon. As physiotherapists, graduates could work in hospitals under the direction of either a doctor or registered nurse.

After graduating from the Swedish Institute, Pasqua enrolled full-time in the Chiropractic Institute of New York (now the New York Chiropractic College) and worked at night in the hospital as a physiotherapist. He later developed a private practice, providing massage therapy to a clientele that included some very famous people in the music business. Pasqua went on to become a chiropractic doctor (D.C.) and he played a role in the movement to license chiropractors in New York State, which occurred in 1963. (Dr. Pasqua is in the center of the photo above, taken during his return visit to the school in June 2003.)

To the question of whether massage is an art or science Pasqua responded, "Healing of any kind is always going to be more of an art than a science. Because in math or chemistry, the equation always has to come out the same way. You get the same answer every time. That's the science. But in medicine, the process is always different. A person goes to five different practitioners with the same condition and will get five different treatments.

"Practitioners may follow certain rules, but there will always be a subjective element. In massage therapy, even if you have the same exact protocol, there will be variables such as how heavy or how light is the touch, is it fast or slow, rhythmical or abrupt? And of course, there's the interpersonal factor. Some doctors get patients halfway healed just by talking to them. Isn't it true?"

In this photograph of the class of 1947 Valerio Pasqua
is in the fourth row, the fifth man from the left.
Captain Theodore Melander, who founded the school
in 1916, is in the center of the picture of the picture.
He is flanked by Ernest "Doc" Meyers, D.C., who
sat to his left and Lillian F. Phillips on his right.

Dr. Pasqua, still vibrant in his late seventies, has a part-time practice in Larchmont, NY. He is a trustee of the New York Chiropractic College in Seneca Falls, N.Y., and is past chairman of the Chiropractic Board of the state of New York.

For more information

Learn more about the Swedish Institute's history.

Read a Brief History of Massage Therapy.

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