Well, I have been thinking of putting together this little blog for some time now, and here I am , starting something that I am not sure how it will evolve.
My desire to create this blog comes from many avenues..
I have reached my capacity in my small home-based clinic, and have been receiving many inquiries about massage care. I have been referring out to clinics, some that I frequent, and others where I have not been in years. Don't get me wrong, I know the therapists and have trusted each one with many clients, but there comes a time in your life when you want to broaden your horizons, and see what else is out there. I take a lot of pride in referring friends, family, and the general public to therapists whom I know will take the same time and energy that I do with my clients. I am on the hunt for those dedicated professionals.
There has also been a lot of changes in the Massage Therapy profession, with hopefully many more to come. For years, and I mean many many moons, we have been an un-regulated province when it comes to Massage Therapy. Across Canada, there are only 5 provinces that are regulated with 2200 hours of training as standard, and it is great to know that I have received the highest level of education required in this country (BC has recently changed their mindset and is agreeing with the country wide standard too). Having said that, we are still not required to have any specific level of training to work with the general public, whether with Chiropractors, Physiotherapists or other medical professionals. The City of Calgary, who requires us as therapists to come down to City Hall once a year for a Practitioner Licence and a Business Liscence, still puts us in the same category as escort services and call girls, since they only require us to have 250 hours. Makes me a bit ashamed to be in an un-regulated province.
I have been teaching Massage Therapy for the past 6 years, and love to see new, and eager therapists enter the healing field of massage. I realize that every single one of them has a set of gifts and talents that they bring to their personal setting, and that they also bring their wealth of knowledge of the human body to each client. I am now proudly working with a school here in Calgary, which only offers a 2200 hour program. I not against other programs, just that I am proud to see a set of standards set by an educational facility, preparing their graduates for the challenges that are ahead of them. This school also supports their staff to try different clinics around their area, in the knowing that my experiences will help and benefit the students, and that started me thinking... What if I were able to share my experiences with the general public as well???
I am very anxious for some across the board standardization, and want to support those individuals who went the extra mile in their training, and worked hard to become 2200 hour Registered Massage Therapist, and therein lies my mission...
My mission is to try a session with a NEW Massage Therapist every month, and write about my experiences with that practitioner and clinic. I will include as much detail as possible, from the moment I entered the clinic, until I walk out the door. I will provide their location information, photos if possible of the premesis, as well as their website information. I want to help promote those great therapists practicing around our city, but also to help spread the word about the importance of decent therapeutic practices and the benefits of 2200 hour practitioners.
I have no end in mind for this project, and I would love to hear back from anyone who may read these pages, and create an open forum for the discussion of promoting Massage Therapy.
