Therapist Life
What are the biggest obstacles to working for yourself?
It takes a while to appreciate your own boundaries on how many people you can see, whether you need gaps etc. It’s easier to say yes to opportunities sometimes, which then just makes you into a people pleaser with no boundaries. When you are self employed this can come from the fear that it’ll all be taken away from you. I have always either rented a room or paid commission and worked from home. Communication is key when working within an organisation to feeling involved, but also respected. Clients are exceptionally important, but so are therapists as they make the business tick.
How do you know how much you can do?
Trial and error mainly. 20 years ago I could train at the gym, then work all afternoon treating up to 8 people in a row. Then when working for a ballet company I was expected to massage 13 people with a half hour break (often with a 3 hour commute). It was what the previous person did so I went along with it. I was like a zombie at the end of my session, my nail-beds hurt and I could hardly focus on the last few people. In fact sometimes due to working with no natural light I would get an eye migraine.
A bike accident made me re-evaluate what I could do, but more importantly, what I wanted to do. It was easier to work for myself during that time as I could control my diary and it became quality over quantity from then on.
Have you had to deal with bad behaviour?
I have banned a couple of men for leud comments. The one that left me reeling was that he had a daughter my age. I couldn’t help going back to the moral dilemma that if he wouldn’t say these things to her, why was it appropriate to say them to me?! I’ve also had someone tell me they hated me as apparently that’s what you do to a therapist. Not this kind of therapist! I have a genuine connection with most people, but not everyone is your cup of tea, and vice versa. It comes down to being appropriate and your own ethics. You often don’t know what they are unless faced with challenging situations.
What makes people want to come back?
I have a fondness for engaging with people, and empathy certainly allows you to connect on a different level, but giving an effective treatment isn’t always about good chat. Being knowledgable, interested and working with rather than on people is imperative. For people not to want to go to anyone else is the biggest compliment.
What makes a successful therapist?
Having trained a lot of people to massage I appreciate that we all approach it differently. To treat soft tissue effectively it’s important to adapt, not only to depth of pressure, but to sensitivities in the muscles (and also the person). This may mean using thumbs, finger tips, knuckles or elbows. The way I massage has been described like a precision missile which gets targeted results. We have to pay attention to being respectful of the person, but we should be able to do this without words.
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