The Life of a Therapist

Welcome to the October 15, 2008 edition of The Life of a Therapist Blog Carnival. Thanks to everyone who submitted entries this month. The blog is growing slowly, but there will be tons of new content soon. In the meantime, please visit these incredible blogs and check out what the writers have to say!

Dawn Abraham Life Coach presents Chakra Clearing posted at Qualified Life Coach.Com, saying, “Chakra clearing paves the way to opening your creative energy. Learn how to easily clear up what may be blocking you from success. Re-energize and balance yourself in twenty minutes.”

Becca presents Therapy in the Dark? posted at Massage Buzz.

Dean Moyer presents Aquatic Therapy for Back Pain posted at The Back Pain Blog, saying, “Anger places you at risk for injury and back pain, but you can control how you respond to stressful situations with just a little forethought. Awareness of the risks associated with anger is the key to avoiding joint and spine related injuries.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the life of a therapist using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: the life of a therapist, blog carnival.

Welcome to the September 2008 edition of The Life of a Therapist Blog Carnival. Forgive the lateness of this post, as the new full-time career change has demanded most of my time. Things are starting to settle down, though - so we should see things pick up around here shortly. Thank you to those who did contribute this month!

TherapyDoc presents Therapeutic Boundaries posted at Everyone Needs Therapy, saying, “Maybe the experiences of different kinds of therapists are sometimes the same.”

Sandra Ahten presents The Reasonable Diet posted at Sandra Ahten, saying, “Learn How can we make healthier dieting and weight control a source of pleasure instead of duty? How can we, as Thoreau suggests, take it upon ourselves and bring happiness to this area of our lives?”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the life of a therapist using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: the life of a therapist, blog carnival.

Welcome to the September 15, 2008 edition of the life of a therapist.

TherapyDoc presents Therapeutic Boundaries posted at Everyone Needs Therapy, saying, “Maybe the experiences of different kinds of therapists are sometimes the same.”

Sandra Ahten presents The Reasonable Diet posted at Sandra Ahten, saying, “Learn How can we make healthier dieting and weight control a source of pleasure instead of duty? How can we, as Thoreau suggests, take it upon ourselves and bring happiness to this area of our lives?”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the life of a therapist using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: the life of a therapist, blog carnival.

This post is for fellow therapists from New Jersey and the surrounding areas.

I received an email this week from the Healing Hands Institute in Westwood, NJ. They’re offering a 6-hour (and 6 CEU) CE class on Ethics and New Jersey Law on September21st. This is an incredibly important course for any therapist in New Jersey. Not only does it fulfill your NCBTMB requirements, but it also familiarizes therapists with guidelines and regulations within New Jersey.

New Jersey therapists - are you paying attention? The state has passed some new laws regulating the practice of massage therapy.  While the laws have been passed, they have not yet been implemented, but I can guarantee changes are coming soon.

Are you prepared?

Sadly, Westwood is a little far from my home, but I may have to make the trek up there eventually for this class. It simply doesn’t seem like anyone local to my area (South Jersey/Philadelphia) offers much in the way of continuing education, let alone ethics.

Has anyone else had trouble finding CE classes in their own areas? How did you remedy the situation?

I somehow ended up on the mailing list for the World Massage Forum. I’m pretty sure I never asked for their updates, but I get them anyway and am always curious to see what’s going on in the world of massage.

I recently received an email about the World Massage Forum to be held from November 17-22, 2008. The catch? It’s a virtual conference, meaning all of the classes and seminars can be watched online from the comfort of your own home.

I’m not sure how I really feel about this. It might be great for those who can work or watch with groups to apply what they’re learning, but I really wonder how much benefit an individual can get out of an environment like that - especially over the course of 6 days.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I’d prefer to try techniques out as I’m learning them. Unless there are other educational classes that don’t focus on technique, I’m not sure this would be worth checking out.

What do you think? Has anyone had any past experience with the World Massage Forum?

Welcome to the August 2008 edition of The Life of a Therapist Blog Carnival. Alright, so we’re a little bit late posting this first edition, but I’m sure you’ll still enjoy the posts that other bloggers have offered for your reading pleasure.

fightingfatigue presents » Massage Therapy for CFS & Fibromyalgia Patients posted at Fighting Fatigue.

Astrid Lee presents Healing Box posted at World Healing, saying, “If your therapeutic practice is like mine, than you have more healing or treatment requests than you have time for in a day.

Well, no more guilt about that. Simply use this powerful healing box to submit all your dreams, worries as well as ‘freeby’ requests plus clients who simply don’t match your schedule and live a healthy, guilt-free life as a therapist.”

Fiona King presents 25 Painless Ways You Can Reduce Your Water Consumption posted at Organicasm.

Fenny presents Latest Beauty Tips posted at Fenny Lopez, saying, “We at Latest Beauty Tips look forward to provide you the best. You will find much more info on health & beauty products & tips to help your skin and health problems. Please feel free to post all feedback, concerns, comments & suggestions here.”

Health Blogger presents Healing My Chronic Shoulder and Neck Pain Through Diet and Exercise posted at Health and Fitness Blog.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the life of a therapist using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: the life of a therapist, blog carnival.

Well, I’ve gone and done it, my friends. I’ve been neglecting my blog because I’m focusing on cleaning up my desk in the big office. Effective 9/1, I’ll be self-employed. Full-time.

I plan on making both massage therapy and freelance writing a major part of my income, while at the same time focusing on our growing martial arts school. I apologize for being scarce, but I guarantee that as of September 1 you’re going to see regular detailed posts on the life of a massage therapist!

In the meantime, I encourage you all to look up Cupping! I had a cupping session done on Friday, with a friend who was experimenting with her new set, and the benefits were amazing. My own set should arrive shortly, and I’ll share some more information, as well as pictures, as I am better able to verbalize what I want to share.

Until then, keep massaging and stay safe. A whole new life is ahead. I can’t wait to share it!

I’m incredibly surpised at how successful my “EveryBody Deserves a Massage Week” campaign has been. I’ve booked three massages and found 4 of the 5 participants I need for a case study I’m working on. Wow!

The curiousity has been overwhelming, too. Everyone is reading the flyers and asking about massage. I’ve had men ask about massages for their wives; women thinking about it for themselves, and more. Even if these people don’t book massages this week, they’ve got the thought in their head and they’ll think of me when it is their time.

That’s the key to marketing, my friends. You want your name out on the street so that people will begin thinking of you first when they want a massage or bodywork service. Participating in massage community events is an excellent way of getting your name out into the world!

Things are moving slowly, but surely. I’m actually getting ready to launch into the full-time world of freelancing (massage and writing) within the next month, so things will certainly get interesting moving forward!

Have a great weekend!

As a massage therapist, you’re going to find marketing to be one of the most difficult tasks on your list of things to do. You’ll probably find that placing ads in the paper is not the most cost effective; neither is a largely blind mailing. So, what will you do?

If you’re just starting out, you’ll need a set of business cards. You can easily carry business cards in your purse or pocket and hand them to anyone you meet who may be interested in your services. It’s also easy to mail a few to family and friends (in cards, etc) or leave them in various doctors offices or stores you may visit frequently.

I’m almost never without a business card and a pen. I’ve even gone as far as mailing cards out with my bill payments. If I meet someone who is interested in massage, I’ll ask for contact information so that I can call or email when I run a special. Most people are willing to accept a discount or coupon, so it’s not tough to get that sort of information if you are honest and promise not to mistreat it.

I’ve met quite a few therapists who wonder why they don’t have any business. The problem is that they aren’t promoting themselves, or they’re going about promotion in the wrong way. Start with the easier (and less expensive) options and move on from there.

You can  purchase business card templates from your local office supply store. They sell perforated business cards that you can print on after designing your card in a simple program, such as Word.

If making your own card isn’t your thing, search online for business cards. There are dozens of companies giving away FREE business cards as long as you pay shipping. They’ll only give them to you for FREE on your first order, but most of these companies charge relatively low prices to start with…

Grab some business cards and hit the pavement. The best way to promote yourself is by making yourself known!

Attention Massage Therapists!

Did you know that the week of July 20th through 26th is EveryBody Deserves a Massage Week?

EveryBody Deserves a Massage week is sponsored by the ABMP (Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals), and they have been running the event for 14 years.

Basically, massage therapists are encouraged to promote the benefits of massage therapy while helping to make massage more affordable to the community. You can participate any way you want, but here are a few suggestions:

• Offer discounts to your current clients
• Give FREE massages to senior citizens
• Donate complimentary chair massages and/or offer massage for a donation that will be given to a charity of your choice
• Asked for canned food donations in exchange for chair massages
• Create special offers for service groups (ie. firemen, etc).

These are just a few of the suggestions made by ABMP and others. I’m sure you can think of more.

Personally, I am offering incredibly steep discounts to anyone who calls to book their massage by the 26th, even if their appointment is after that date.

I also took this opportunity to open up a case study program to some of my clients, where they will get a package of 5 massages for a very low price while helping me to finish a project for an international certification! Everyone wins!

Regardless of how you celebrate, remember to express how important massage and bodywork actually is and how beneficial it can be to the body. Be creative, and have a great week!