What therapies are being provided throws alot of light on the protocal of how the patient / practitioner relationship is devised.
INDO
For example?
Why?
How do you 'devise' patient/practitioner relationships?
You do not have the right to act as a judge and juror demanding information whilst giving little information yourself. I am not waiting for your pronouncement!
I think this is a brilliant thread.
I have had some horrendous treatments in holistics and beauty, but I treat those sessions as a teaching aid, make sure I don't make those mistakes and also feel slightly smug knowing that I don't make those mistakes.
1. I hate it when they stop their treatment to answer the phone.
2. I hate couch paper and not enough towelling.
3. I hate it when the therapist STINKS of cigarettes.
4. I hate it when the therapist doesn't wash their hands before a treatment.
5. I hate a treatment when they are "going through the motions", ie 6 effleurage, 3 petrissage, its like dancing by numbers.
6. I hate it when they talk CONSTANTLY! I really couldn't giving a flying fart where they are going on holiday, who they are going out with and what their hormones are like, or what they horrid kids are up to.
7. I'm not keen on going into someone elses house for a treatment and hate using their obviously communal family bathroom.
Yep ! this thread is hotting up:p
It sounds like some of you have had some pretty 'bad' treatments.
Most of the pet hates here are common sense when providing a service for someone.
I have been fortunate to have visited with 'professionals' compared to the ones on this thread.
'Do unto others as you would have done unto yourself' springs to mind 😀
Its all just a shame really!
It's about why CLIENTS may not return for another treatment. It's not about coolhandluke specifically and you seem to want to personalise it but it's not about ME:confused:
I'm assuming you are talking to me?
Yep....its not about you :p
As for the 'type' of massage I think it's irrelevant.
My reason for this is that attending a swedish/therapeutic massage as a 'client' is quite different for attending a chinese or even thai massage as a 'patient'. There are certain standards to provide and the work has a certain structure to it which needs to be maintained throughout for effective results.
As a TCM practitioner i provide medical massage therapy for chronic pain and illness. The treatment is applied clothed and is at times very deep and vigorous.
I do not let my patients dictate the treatment, but i am obviously taking their thoughts and feeling into consideration when treating.
I am there to do a job at the end of the day. I am pretty good at telling the ones that won't return and its usually the kind the don't 'want ' to get better.
(thankfully only 3 in the pat year...fingers crossed)
I suppose this is what i meant by 'protocal' compare to therapeutic therapies.
Fortunately i provide a suitable environment at home which is paramount to the running of my business.
I must admit there are some funny experiences on this thread, and as noted before i have yet to have a 'bad treatment'. 😀
It is nice when the therapist offers a flexible confident approach so you become partners in therapy not some inferior having things done to you by the expert. Who knows how you feel better than your self?
This should be taught as part of client care.
My dear Luke
The comments in my last post are very generalised and not to be taken seriously enough to jump to such conclusions that you have made. If I didn't have or lost empathy for my clients I would be happy to leave the profession and get on with sometime else. In my own philosophy there's thing called yin and yang - balance. If there is one issue there must be another equal and opposite.
I agree with Indo's comment quote: I do not let my patients dictate the treatment, but i am obviously taking their thoughts and feeling into consideration when treating. Since I'm a practitioner of a similar background to his. Clients come to me for therapeutic massage for specific issues not pampering.
At the end of the day clients vote with their feet and I would estimate that over 90% of clients I see for the first time will come back at least 4 times, and that's pretty good odds in a world of wimms and fancies, and the poorest county in Britain (according to EU statistics).
The reason prehaps clients don't come back to many therapists is because there is a lack of overall professionism in CAM in this country. Sometimes this leads to overcompensation be some practitioners being too clinical, and others just doing it as a hobby. We are talkin' about an industry that has no or very little mentors, very little research funding, and no recognition in mainstream goverment, science and health organisations. Not forgetting massage being considered by some to be part of the sex industry.
To me it's a vocation - like nursing, teaching, preaching etc.
I can assure you that I'm not taking this thread seriously or personally, as this is not just a reply to you, but a means of communication to others out there.
best wishes
RP
It is like any industry, you will get good and bad.
I recently posted something similar to this on another forum regarding "my ideal pedicure". Not one person took offence and some held their hands up and said fair enough, but hopefully, some of them took my comments and improved their practise.
As an act of balance, I then opened up another discussion asking people to describe "their ideal massage".
I don't like it when massage therapists don't treat all of the muscle, e.g. only go 3/4 up the leg, or mostly massage the inside of your legs (easier to get to?) when I really need work on the outside more.
The last therapist I went to a few times works at a leisure centre in a cupboard-type room with no windows. The room was too small for him to get around the couch easily, let alone do massage. I also got a vibe from him that his heart wasn't in it: he didn't seem focussed, he didn't seem to be enjoying it very much, he just generally seemed a bit down and looked tired, worn out, even when he had just been on holiday. I don't know, there was just a bit of a negative energy around him in a way.
He must also have some kind of chronic cold or allergy or something, as he was sniffing loudly throughout all sessions, which irritated me. And for large parts of the massage he used one of those vibrating massage "machines". Which I suppose does the job in a way, but I don't like it: feels like I'm paying the therapist but they can't be bothered to do the work themselves or something like that. I've got one of those at home, I can use that myself if I want to.
He's relatively cheap, so I guess you get what you pay for. He is always very booked up though, think he does up to 30 hours a week, always very busy. So clearly a lot of people are happy with his service.
Funny thing is that I saw this same therapist (in a different location) for a while years ago, way before I trained and qualified myself. And back then I was happy with his service. So either he has changed (mainly in his attitude/vibe/energy: maybe he enjoyed massage, or life in general more back then?), or it is just that I have higher standards since training myself (or a bit of both).
Hi Guru, yes that's a good idea, what would be the ideal treatment? Any suggestions anyone?
Hi Pinky, what you said in your last post highlights what I meant as lack of professionalism or professional standing. It's amazing how many hotels, spas and leisure centres stick complementary and beauty therapists in a pokey room with no window or proper environmental controls.
In my last post, I considered therapy to be a vocation. So I have come up with the 3 Pillars of Massage:
1. Massage is an art underpinned by science, not the other way round.
2. Massaging someone is a privilege
3. Touch is compassion in action
Hopefully contemplating on the 3 Pillars is a reminder of why we are involved in such a vocation.
Any comments?
RP
The last therapist I went to a few times works at a leisure centre in a cupboard-type room with no windows. The room was too small for him to get around the couch easily, let alone do massage.
You had me worried then!!!!! sounds similar to my situation, although i am still happy and energetic. I am just about to leave a set up like this, purely because it feels really stagnant and leisure centres are very draining, which could be taking it out of him...too much out , not enough in!
"large parts of the massage he used one of those vibrating massage "machines".
:D:D:D:D
Haha, no it can't have been you 😀 The strange thing was that he was telling me he was very happy there, very happy with that room, that he had that room to himself which was nice, and he can run his own business the way he wants to and he wouldn't want to work in a clinic etc.
There are lots of issues arising from this thread and it has made me take a step back and look at how I work.
In the seven years that I have been practising as a therapist, I have worked in various settings and now work mainly from home, although I do work in a community centre for a cancer charity and do home visits for people who cannot get to us.
Of course, most of us aspire to being the best therapists we can be, but we also have to earn a living and the choice of venues available just isn't there for us.
I have worked in a complementary centre where baby signing classes were held outside my treatment room door, in a clinic where they used to water down the soap and not provide enough towels, etc, etc, so I decided that working from a dedicated room at home (I know I'm lucky to have this) would mean that most aspects of my treatment would be within my control, although there have been times when neigbours choose to do some repairs, cut their grass, etc, while I am treating a client.
I am now able to allow 30 minutes in between clients, to allow for those who arrive early or late and so that my clients don't feel too rushed if a consultation or chat goes on a bit longer than usual. As I don't have the luxury of having a receptionist, I do have to make sure that I will have finished one client before I answer the door to the next as I never interrupt a treatment once a client is in my room.
Obviously, this does mean that my clients do have to use my family bathroom, but I always ensure it's clean. It's also slightly difficult if a couple come together and one wants to wait for the other, but I do make space available for them to sit comfortably.
As therapists, we do have 'off days'. My mother had leukaemia and cancer for three years before she died and more recently my husband had a couple of health scares and mostly I am able to 'put on the happy face' for my clients. I liken my working day to putting on a show - it protects me from negativity as well as hopefully keeping a positive attitude for my clients, no matter what is going on in my life.
That doesn't mean to say that I'm not genuine when speaking with my clients, but my focus is on them. I would say that as most of my clients are regulars and many of them are going through traumatic experiences, probably, depending on the client, somewhere between 60 and 90 per cent is about the physical treatment and the rest is about my relationship with the client. Although most like to be quiet, some, particularly those who live alone, like to offload while they are having their treatment and that is their perogative.
So whilst it is helpful to know what turns a client off about a treatment, every client is different and they all take different things from various therapists. And unfortunately, we are all limited by the surroundings in which we work which we often have little choice in.
Fortunately, for the clients out there, they have a good choice of therapists and locations to choose from (never has the therapy market been so saturated).
its such a shame that people have to experience treatments with therapists wearing plastic aprons and in cupboards as rooms. Some clients may be put off trying another therapist as they "tar" everyone with the same brush.
I think there is a danger that as a therapist gets established with their own clientele, over a period of time the therapist may become isolated and not realise that their level of service has dropped. I've had massage in an uncluttered room that within weeks became a store for building materials, lengths of timber along the wall but no chair to put your clothes on, and no fresh air supply making it close hot and stuffy.
Having a 'bad' experience has never put me off finding another therapist, it's quite empowering to know that your money will remain in your pocket until a suitably deserving therapist is found whilst the bad therapist sits there wondering why the phone doesn't ring.
Even the bad times were not without merit apart from the time I had a so called massage from a very opinionated and strong willed therapist who didn't do any flowing strokes and seemed to be pressing as hard as she could on various body sections; it was like being in a vice and that was a one time experience!
Well, again, different clients have different preferences for the type of massage they receive.
I do adapt my massage to suit the individual client, but there are always the odd ones (and I mean that in the nicest possible way) for whom the pressure is too deep, even though I feel that I am using a very light touch and those who ask me to use more pressure, when I think I am working very deeply.
Which is why I always ask the client what their expectations of the treatment are and to let me know if anything is uncomfortable during the treatment and if they want me to adjust the pressure.
We try to be all things to all clients, but one person's idea of heaven is another's idea of hell, so without the clients' feedback we have no idea if the massage we are giving you is what you expect.
Yes, there are therapists out there who clearly do have room for improvement, but most of us strive for excellence and would appreciate your feedback during or immediately after the treatment.