Marleau Peterson

Paradise resident Marleau Peterson has always been passionate about “helping people,” so she decided to leave a career in merchandising and realize her passion by becoming a certified massage therapist. She continued learning other therapeutic modalities as well, including Bowen technique and reiki (“adding to my toolbox,” she said), and eventually opened Marleau Peterson’s Healing Arts Center (562 Manzanita Ave., Ste. 10), a unique and peaceful Chico-based home for her work and that of other healing-arts practitioners. Sharing the space makes it an affordable option for practitioners, and offers clients a wide variety of options under one roof for improving their health and well-being. Currently, there are approximately 40 healing artists—specializing in everything from chakra-balancing to intuitive readings—who use the facility. The common area includes a store with books by local healing practitioners, and there’s a lending library as well. Visit www.chicohealingartscenter.com or call 345-6300 for more info.

What’s the arrangement with practitioners?

Practitioners pay a by-the-hour fee for the rooms they rent. I wanted to have a space where practitioners could come and not necessarily have the stress of what the overhead is. I’ve noticed in the healing arts that it’s a different mindset. A lot of practitioners feel they can’t charge for what they do, but they have to. By taking off the table what their overhead is, they can focus on the client.

Do you have a philosophy?

My philosophy is everything is a flow and there’s enough for everyone. There’s more than enough for everybody in that way. If you have a client you’re working on and they’re stuck, and if you have the mentality that there’s enough for everybody, then it’s a lot freer for people to refer them to another practitioner who might be of more benefit to them. There’s no way one practitioner can touch or heal everybody in Chico. … The more you include everybody’s modalities, the more the community will benefit. We’re here for wellness. It’s not a competition—it’s what’s best for the client.

What kinds of practitioners can use your center?

I’m open to anything that will forward people. And I’m all about educating clients and getting them involved in their own health. … There are lots of alternatives to medicine and surgery. We are whole people and need to look at the whole about us—our jobs, our families, and what the positive things are and what the things are that we need to let go of. When people open the door to healing, the changes can be profound.