7 Ways to Find a Massage Therapist

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This post was written by: Susan Blue

If you are new to massage, here are 7 ways to find a Massage Therapist

• Ask your friends and colleges who they go to and what they like about them. If you are a good friend they may get you a gift certificate.

You are assigned a massage therapist. Their job is to give you a good experience with massage. You don’t have to ask them any questions or find out about their credentials.

Ideally your company is sending you on a conference. The massage is a perk.

• Go to a Day Spa:

This can be a great way to start. You can go back and experience several types of massage and or therapist to find what works for you.

• Check Websites:

Your local city website may have a listing for massage therapist. Many therapists now have websites. You will find out what types of massage, fee, credentials, possibly a picture and a map.

The best known sites for locating a therapist in your area:

• American Massage Therapy Association AMTA

AMTA member requirements are:

Graduate from a minimum 500 in-class-hour massage therapy training program, or

Pass the National Certification Examination in Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork, or

Possess a current AMTA accepted license to practice, and

Earn continuing education credit, and

Uphold the AMTA Code of Ethics.

• Associated Massage and Bodywork Association (AMBP)

Click on massagetherapy.com or

massageandbodywork.com

What the online service offers: They will contact massage therapists within 25 miles of you after having submitted your name, what type of massage you would like, email address.

• Look in the yellow pages under Massage / Massage Therapy / Clinics.

When you have found a massage therapist and may be interested in their services:

Ask for a 5 minute interview over the phone. Most are willing to give you that time, but if they are busy and they may have to set a phone appointment for later.

Tell them why you want a massage: You may want to reduce tension, or your lower back is over worked from gardening, etc.

Let them know if you were referred or where you got their phone number.

They will ask questions to help along the way. Remember, this is their profession and they want to help you.

If you are new to massage let them know.

Establishing rapport: Sometimes this isn’t easy to do over the telephone. But you can get enough information to let you know if you can be comfortable and able to relax.

* You feel that they are interested in you.

* They tell you something about the massage itself and the procedures they would use.

Luckily, most massage therapist can tell you that in a way you would understand and

Not loose you in professional jargon.

* How long they have been doing massage and something about their training.

* What they charge.

* If they are with a group.

* They give you directions on how to get there.

Feel good about your phone interview? Set an appointment.

If you are still unsure, but want to pursue getting more information and possibly meeting this person. See if they are willing to do a 15 minute consultation. Many therapists do this or are willing to have you come in to get an experience of them, their setting. If there are massage modalities that they are recommending, this is a good time to possibly have a referral to a website, or to get acquainted with what those are and what to expect.

Many of the people I see, come in for that brief consultation. I also direct them to my website. That helps them be more specific with their questions when they come in.

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Massage is a growing field of health care. Therapists are specializing in different bodies of knowledge that give specific results. More commonly know terms are Swedish, Sports Massage, Therapeutic Massage, Lymph Drainage Massage, Neuromuscular Therapy, and so on. Most therapists are versatile and can do a great rub down to being one of your primary health care people in the recovery of an auto accident or other injuries that respond well to soft tissue therapy.