Archive for Become a Massage Therapist

Become a massage therapist

October 4, 2009 Julie Onofrio Become a Massage Therapist

What do you need to know to become a massage therapist?  This is one of the most essential questions that people fail to do their research on before they decide to go to massage school.  I know I just went to massage school in 1987 after 2 weeks of asking simple questions like – how much can you make, can you make a good living, what do you need to learn.  It is one of the reasons why I started my websites – no one told me it was going to be hard and not be the pretty picture that is painted all over the school brochure.

Most often when you are just thinking about the idea that you might want to become a massage therapist you often don’t even know what questions to ask.  The wrong people end up in massage school.  Here are some things that I have seen that massage therapists often find themselves in without really thinking first.  These are some things that people don’t think about when thinking about a career in massage. Some are silly but all are real.

  • You have to touch people! Skin to skin contact! Hairy people, overweight people, people with weird skin conditions, people with ugly scars, people who are sick, in pain and injured.
  • Most massage therapists start their own business.  Even most jobs are actually sub-contractor jobs so that really means that you are starting your own business.  Even jobs require that you do sales of products and promote your services.
  • Clients will magically appear at my doorstep waiting to be massaged because after all I have good hands!  Every day you have to do something to get a steady flow of new clients – write pages for your website, start a marketing campaign, network with doctors and other professionals.  Even if you have a full day of massage clients you have to do something to keep clients coming in the door.
  • I don’t want to cut my nails.  They make me feel so feminine. – Ok then scratch people to death and see how many clients come back!
  • I didn’t know I would have to deal with men getting erections on the table.  I didn’t know that I might also have to deal with men asking for extra favors!  Erections are a reality.  Some are innocent.  Some want the extra happy ending.  Some never get them.   You have to be prepared and know how to deal with them and get support in dealing with them.  There isn’t any one simple answer.  They just are.
  • I don’t want to have to cover up my tattoo or remove my lip/eye/nose piercings.  Will I be able to get a job in massage?   Well maybe in  a tattoo/piercing shop but your chances of working in a high end salon or professional clinic are slim to none.
  • The physical and mental strain of working on people all day in a dark room, alone, not talking for the most part is isolating.  Taking care of yourself so that you can handle the demands is the first step in being a successful massage therapist.

What did you wish you knew about becoming a massage therapist or before you went to massage school that no one told you about?

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Can the NCBTMB be saved?

September 12, 2009 Julie Onofrio Licensing and Legislation

The NCBTMB just announced their latest project – creating an advanced exam to certify massage therapists.   They are doing their job task analysis to determine what is needed but frankly I don’t have much confidence in their company or programs.  This is what they should have been doing all along.  Is it too late?  With the creation of the MBLeX exam which is fast becoming a favorite in each state for licensing requirements they should have started a long time ago rather than putting so much money into fighting the state boards.

I for one have never seen any value in being nationally certified or in maintaining certification.  Are people being asked to prove their credentials in other states?   I used to hear a few mentions of employers only hiring nationally certified massage therapists in small towns or places where massage is not as well known or accepted but that could easily be gotten around by showing that you were an competent massage therapist.

I for one don’t know how they will determine what makes for an advanced massage therapist with all of the different types of massage out there.  Who will need it?  Who will take the test when you can study different types of massage and practice them effectively without it and you can get actual certifications in different types of massage from each school/program.

I actually have started thinking about the idea that basic massage school needs to move into a 3-4 year program like Canada and Japan.  We also should be studying these other countries to see how it is working there.   I used to be in the camp of less education is better and that you could start practicing massage with 100 hours of training and still think that the right person could do that but because there are more massage jobs out there now than there ever has been in the last 20 years the low pay in those jobs is a problem.

They haven’t even done any market research to see if this is needed as far as I know – have they?

What is next for the massage profession?

Read Laura Allen’s blog post on this at www.massagemag.com

NCBTMB Press Release (pdf)

From their press release:

For additional information, contact NCBTMB Director of Exam Development Elizabeth Langston, CAE, at 630-652-0482 or elangston@ncbtmb.org.

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Is Massage a Profession?

August 18, 2009 Julie Onofrio Licensing and Legislation, News

Is massage a profession?  It is in my opinion and view.  I have been working in it for over 20 years.

What makes for a profession is part of the question.  I started looking for answers on how professions are defined but I haven’t come up with anything concrete.

Wikipedia says this about the history of professions.

Classically, there were only three professions: Divinity, Medicine, and Law[2]. The main milestones which mark an occupation being identified as a profession are:

  1. It became a full-time occupation;
  2. The first training school was established;
  3. The first university school was established;
  4. The first local association was established;
  5. The first national association was established;
  6. The codes of professional ethics were introduced;
  7. State licensing laws were established.[2]

It further goes on to say:  “A profession arises when any trade or occupation transforms itself through “the development of formal qualifications based upon education and examinations, the emergence of regulatory bodies with powers to admit and discipline members, and some degree of monopoly rights.”

A few years ago a white paper on just this topic was written by Rick Rosen called “On Becoming a Profession (pdf)”.  In it he sites his thoughts on what is required for massage therapists to become a profession. He has outlined and talked about in depth these things that need to be done to become a profession.

  • Establish a Body of Knowledge
  • Improve the quality of massage therapy education
  • Reorganize the credentialing process by putting licensure before certification
  • Create parity among our state massage laws to increase portability
  • Develop and promote a unified professional identity
  • Use lessons learned from other professions

The Body of Knowledge is in the works.  Rosen says this:

A Body of Knowledge is defined as “a
compendium of what an individual must know to accomplish work in a specific field.” In our case, this would be described according to the competencies that are required to practice handson therapies in a safe and effective manner. Identifying the knowledge, skills and attributes is a
critical first step in building a profession. It establishes the groundwork for determining standards in education, credentialing, regulation and clinical practice.

Keith Grant has also started a collection of massage competencies to further explain what it is we really do.

The quality of schools is under question with the recent large massage school chains buying up smaller massage schools around the country.  Our massage schools are also looking to younger people to fill their schools when the average age of massage therapists used to be 45.  Currently massage schools report much younger students which requires different teaching methods.  At 45 a person has much life experience to draw from and apply to starting and building a practice.  But with the creation of the many massage franchises massage schools are seeking out younger people to fill those positions because they are most likely to not need much to live on and are quite happy with a job that pays $1-$15 an hour.

Reorganizing the credentialing process is in the works too with the Federation of Massage State Boards working to create a more formal system for licensing.  The NCBTMB will hopefully transition out of the entry-level testing business and redirect its energies toward the development of new and innovative specialty certification programs.

With all of the work of the Federation and Body of Knowledge can we come to more of a consensus and accurately define our profession?  Hopefully that will come with all of the work that is being done.

And what can we learn from other professions?  Some say that nursing is the profession that most closely resembles the massage profession.  I don’t know much about the history of nursing but it might be something to look into.

Because of the work we do with clients is so different than most other professions – touching half naked bodies who are in pain and under stress, there is also the other side of this all and how we are trained to deal with client/therapist relationships – We aren’t for the most part trained in basic massage school.   While I have never been a big proponent of more training and licensing for the first time in 20 years I think it might be time to start doing some research and looking into creating 3-4 year programs like Canada and Japan.  When I first started out massage was more of a lifestyle choice- being able to help people and work your own hours and choose who you worked on.  It still is that but the demands of becoming a profession may require more initial training and more continuing education.

The other part of this – the question on is massage a profession? also depends on each individual and how they represent the massage profession and acting in a professional way.  I have always seen it as a profession and take my work and studies seriously.  I work with professional people in downtown Seattle and had to learn about being professional to survive.  Others who don’t take the profession as seriously may not see how it is growing and becoming a profession more every day.  (Did I just contradict myself?)

What can you do today to be more professional?  What does being a profession mean to you?  Is massage a profession or just a hobby for you?

10 comments

How committed are you to being a massage therapist?

August 5, 2009 Julie Onofrio Become a Massage Therapist

One of the things that I often see  in this profession is that people coming into it think that becoming a massage therapist will be a very easy thing.  I am not sure if it is a result of what the massage schools are teaching or people not doing their research before they become massage therapists.  Just because it is a more rewarding field working with people who are in pain and under stress and being able to be a part of changing people’s lives doesn’t mean it will not be easy.

One of the things that is needed to become successful in this or any field for that matte is a commitment to do so.

What are you willing to do to be successful?

  • Are you willing to learn how to promote yourself?
  • Are you willing to stay with it as long as it takes and stay through the process which may include not getting the results you want at first or even for many years?
  • Are you willing to hire a marketing manager, a financial manager and a website developer to get the best results?
  • Are you willing to keep going even when you do a mailing and you don’t get any client response?
  • Are you willing to keep going even if you try raising your rates but you lose too many clients?
  • Are you willing to learn how to educate clients and show them what the benefits of massage really are?
  • Are you willing to learn how to ask “Do you want another appointment”? and not feel like you are too pushy or feel like it is inappropriate?
  • Are you willing to learn to charge people for no-shows or last minute cancellations?

What are you willing to do?

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What makes a successful massage therapist?

July 27, 2009 Julie Onofrio Become a Massage Therapist, Start Your Massage Business

What makes a successful massage therapist?  What is it that will make the difference between being able to make the money that you need as a massage therapist and having to quit and change careers?

What qualities make for a successful massage therapist?

Is it having a certain technique?

No, people can be successful using any technique or massage method.  There are probably over 300 different types of massage and new methods being created everyday.

Is it having a certain amount of money to start your career with?

No people have started with nothing and people have started with bank loans or savings to start their business.  Having money doesn’t make any difference.

Is it being an expert at marketing?

No – most massage therapists know nothing about marketing and they learn as they go.

Is it having a good location?

No.  You can make it work in any location really.  I used to do massage in a health club and the room I used was right next to the aerobics room and there wasn’t any soundproofing – I kid you not.  I was so busy at that location and always had clients.  Sometimes better locations can make it easier but it isn’t guaranteed that you will succeed if you have the best or right location.

Is it knowing more than other massage therapists about business?

No.  You can learn about business.

Is it about getting the right people to refer to you like doctors or clients?

No.  Anyone can find people to refer to them if they do their networking.

Is it the economy or the trouble in the economy.

No.  The economy is about other people’s money.  Many are very successful in this economy.  With so many people stressed out and getting sick or injured the opportunities are unlimited.  Is it more challenging to build a practice or find a job in this economy?  Yes it might be but that doesn’t mean it can’t work.   Walmart was started during the great depression to fill a need.

What is it that makes the difference of whether or not you will be successful or not in the massage profession?

YOU!   You are the difference!

What makes the difference is your commitment to making things happen for yourself.   Yes it isn’t always easy.  It takes time and effort.  It takes a constant vigilance in remembering just why you are doing this to keep you motivated.  It might mean you have to work a part time job or find a massage job at times or doing whatever it will take to make ends meet.

Monica Roseberry in her first edition of “Massage Marketing” came up with 4 components that create success.  These were put together after she actually toured the country and went to many massage schools and interviewed students and massage school teachers.  What made the difference had nothing to do with the degree of marketing knowledge or business skills.  What made the difference was:

  1. The Desire to Serve
  2. The Commitment to Succeed
  3. A Strong emphasis on professionalism
  4. A Commitment to Excel at customer service

It may also mean hiring a webdesigner or investing in learning about websites and how to get them to work for you.  It may mean investing in a business and marketing coach.

Massage therapists have a strong desire to serve.  This in itself is often the motivating force for succeeding.  (It can also be the road to failure when it is not combined with self care and creating boundaries.)  The desire to serve is often confused with having to sacrifice money and self to serve.

Monica Roseberry in her first edition of “Marketing Massage: How to build your dream practice” says this about serving.

Like it or not, your desire to serve or not serve can be felt directly by your clients.

It is the desire that will take you through the ups and downs of being a massage therapist.  (It is like that way in any field that you choose too.)  Having a strong desire to serve combined with a strong commitment to succeed and to preserve in any economy or through any challenges will lead to success.   This means that just because you try one thing and fail doesn’t mean that it is over.  Learning from your failure is the most important part of failing at something.  If you send out a postcard to 100 people and no one responds it doesn’t really mean anything.  You just have to do it again and again until it works.  Because massage therapists have a way of putting their hearts and souls into a massage business, it often gets equated with thinking and believing that they are not good enough or something must be wrong with them if no one called from one mailing or even 100 mailings.

It doesn’t mean anything.

Being Professional is also a component of success.  Professionalism means different things to different people.  Part of the problem for some massage therapists is that they think that being a massage therapist is about their freedom to do as they please and would rather stick to their own ideas of working with clients.   The most important thing a massage therapist can do for their professionalism is to understand the client/therapist dynamics and keep the work focused on the client.  Since working with people in a state of undress and touching people is such an intimate act, the rules change.  There are so many potential issues that are not really obvious like how selling products can influence the client/therapist relationship.   This isn’t covered much in massage school and it is helpful to get ongoing supervision (not in the work sense of the word) but clinical supervision which is about working with a more experienced massage therapist to be aware of boundary issues and being a professional.

Having Excellent customer services skills is also one of those topics that seems like common sense but it isn’t if you have not worked with people much in a business situation.   Most clients don’t really have a clue about massage, what the different styles are or really care what technique you are doing.  They only care how it all feels. Going above and beyond in every session is what customer service is all about.  It is simple things like returning phone calls within an hour of getting them or returning them when you say you will.  It is being on time for sessions.  It is being present with the client and not bringing your personal issues or even advice to the table.

So while there isn’t just one thing that makes for a successful massage therapist but a combination of qualities that create the right mix.

What do you think makes for a successful massage therapist?

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