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Hi, im massage therapist with more than 11 years of experience in swedish massage. I moved to Belfast, Northern Ireland and unfortunately find out that its not that easy to start your massage therapy business over here due to differences in massage techniques when it comes to privacy and nudity of clients etc.. All my clients back in slovakia enjoyed to be naked at the treatment and it was all natural and ok. Over here people are much more conservative when it comes to male-female interface. Im male massage therapist and have had both male and female clients but over here people like to separate everything in to male and female world like gyms,massages etc. Everybody who does massage knows that i very important for the energy flaw that not on the mechanical level where you physically move muscles tissue and ease tightness but on energy level is much better when male has female and female has male therapist and it is nothing to do with sexuality. I would like to start my career over here but as i saw all the paperwork and forms you have to fill in before you start massage treatment like health background questionnaire etc it puts me off doing what i love. I always discussed health background with my clients before treatment but only verbal conversation where i also superficially told them what and how ill be doing and parts of a body ill be working on, and it was about trust between me and clients. I would like to know wether is it compulsory to fill up those forms before massage treatment. Is it for insurance purpose or is it essential for the UK law to do them? Also i would like advise on which insurance company would insured me as my massage qualification was gain abroad where we have different system of certificates which does not reflect local standards therefor all insurance companies were not able to give me a quote. When i compared amount of hours and depth of fields of study like anatomy and physiology etc i have much more hours covered by my massage course than is required over here to be able work as a fully certified independent massage therapist so there should not be a problem.
HI ,
Balens is the insurance company I use and they cover a number of different complementary therapies. I am sure they cover massage as well. You could contact them with details of your qualifications and see if they are prepared to insure you . If they recognise your qualification there should be no problem.
Balen's (and I am sure any insurance company) would expect you to keep comprehensive records in case there was ever a claim against you. I am not sure why you feel this is abnormal. I am trained in 3 modalities (4 if your include pharmacy!) and comprehensive records are important in all of them.
I would actually expect to have to undress for a massage - but would expect good towel technique! I have a male friend who has given me massage and his towel technique was excellent. I wouldn't be happy to just lie their naken with NO towel whatever the sex of the therapist.
Good luck 🙂
Hi Mko
Welcome to :wave:
I understand where you are coming from. British & Irish people are generally very conservative when it comes to massage. Unfortunately that's the way it is and you have to adapt to local conditions. All cultures have their own massage protocols and varies though out the world.
I feel very lucky that I have trained in both clothed and unclothed massage/bodywork as it saves so many problems with anxiousness of some women. So for most of the time it's underwear on for most clients. Occasionally I do have a client that does take her knickers off and is comfortable being worked that way (with a towel of course). To me it's up to the client and their comfort zone. After all it's their massage not mine! I always also leave the room while a female client is changing, so I can't be accused of looking at their tits.
Personally I rather be totally naked in an oil massage, but only if the therapist is comfortable. Luckily I have a friend who has trained in Lomi Lomi so nice to receive such a massage 😀
As for client records, unless there is some byelaw in NI, you don't by law have to. For insurance purposes you would have to keep those records for 6 years (I think) if a client decides to sue you. It's longer for children and you would have to keep the records up to 21 years of age (I think).
To gain insurance you would have to go to an insurance provider to see if they would recognise your qualifications. It may mean having your certificate and any transcripts or syllabuses translated into English.
You may find it useful to meet other local therapists if there is a support group near you and can give you advice.
Hope that helps.
RP