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The Bay Area Massage Network
San Jose, CA
www.BayAreaMassage.Net |
Owner & Clinical Massage
Therapist
Nov. 2002 –
2006
I am no longer accepting clients due to an injury.
 Private
practice clinical therapy office provided targeted
Myofascial therapy to promote pain relief and structural
recovery of patients’ injuries.
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• Massage Offices • Myofacial Basics- massage links •
There are many aspects to running your own business. It takes more
than just being a great body worker or massage therapist. I have seen
many people underestimate the reality of being a therapist and quit
because they can't start a thriving practice. Most people think that
having a career in massage will be this wonderful thing because you get
to help people. There is much more to it than that. This is a summary
of my experiences presented so that you can understand me a little bit
better.
Massage as in any other profession is a contract between the
practitioners and the public so that the public can get a reliable,
trustworthy service we must consider ethics. There are two possible
relationships between the massage therapist and the client:
1.
Where the therapist simply carries
out the client's wishes, with no significant decisions, providing the
treatment as requested.
2.
Where the client transfers all
decisions to the therapist, so that the therapist determines and carries
out the treatment in consultation with the client.
The primary responsibility of the therapist is ensuring the health
and safety of the client. Work must be carried out with due care and
diligence.
Becoming a massage practitioner has enriched my life greatly, but
there have been some ups and downs along the way. Here are some of the
lesser known facts and real life situations that you may find yourself
in the middle of in your practice. These are mostly examples of real
life situations from my practice or close friends practices.
Some of the negative:
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Paying high rent, social security taxes, insurance, and having
many expenses
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Waiting for months to be paid for an insurance claim. Calling
insurance companies to find out what is taking so long only to find out
they "never received the bill" even though you may have sent it 3 times.
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Doing all the marketing; sending brochures, special
announcements, holiday specials
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Having clients call you Christmas eve at home because they are in
pain and expect you to come in right away just for them. Having clients
call in desperation to get an appointment immediately because they
haven't been able to turn their head for 6 months and now they want you
to fix it right away and in one treatment. Having clients ask you
questions like "Is that a muscle"? Is that a bone?
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Having a man (or woman) become sexually stimulated and
proposition you
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People saying "I don't know why I am in pain - I just ran a
marathon this weekend"
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Last minute cancellations because important meetings come up for
client or they just plain forgot
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Someone coming in who was given a gift certificate from their
significant other and really hated being touched. I actually had one
person bring a book in and ask if he could read while getting massaged.
Another didn't want to fill out the intake form and threw it across the
desk (but later said that getting the massage was the best thing that
ever happened to him)
Some of the positive:
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Figuring out that the shoulder
problem someone had for 2 years is really a neck problem and resolving
it
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Assisting in the healing of a
major problem that may have ended up in surgery (disc problem, carpal
tunnel)
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Giving someone their first massage
and having people say "WOW, what did you do to me?" or "I didn't know
I could be pain free"
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Being a part of an athlete's
training and having them stay injury free and achieving their best.
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Getting referrals because you are
good at what you do not because you are just on some list of providers
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Educating client as to how their body works and what you have to
do to take care of it. Being a part of someone's quest for health
Myofacial Release Explained and
further massage links
[Where did I work
before ] [Where did I work next]
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