When tomorrow comes

Hi

at the end of my last post I said I would answer the question - what happens at the end of a massage session and you are not 'fixed'? Well it is 11 days later, in this case tomorrow never came at least for my computer, some filthy low life vandal invaded it with all sorts of infections that killed it - and with it a key tool for my work. Anyhow I forgive them, life must be so bad for them if they have to spend what they were given doing stuff like that!

So at the end of the session you are better but not 'fixed'.

Often my hands tell me that the problem you have come to me for is

a/ Aggressive and needs gentle intervention and it will not be hurried, to do so will bring rejection from the body as the treatment is forced onto an already stressed system.

b/ Older than you thought, in otherwords, a client with upper cervical pain that came on suddenly often has reached the end of a compensation pathway which began with a lumbar pelvic problem and the body has kept it under the radar, always adapting until it could not adapt further and it cried out for help. So treatment may need to be more widespread than you thought and this is VERY often the case. We may well need more than one session to give you relief and even more to stabilise the body so the problem will not recur or at least will not recur soon.

So maybe a quick snap or rub can relieve the pain but it will be back ASAP unless time is spent rooting out the causes, many of which begin far away from the pain itself.

We therapists ask for a fair go, and we massage therapists offer great value for a one hour session. We have time to work through the layers of the problem in a way that the body can accept and therefore it will integrate with your body.

This is my approach and you can find out more about me at my web page www.naturaltherapypages.com.au/therapist/15342

Next I will look at 'force fed therapy' or 'is it neccessary to beat the stuffing out of a client in the name of treatment?'

See ya

Michael

Can you 'fix' me?

Following on from the discussions about time and therapy, here is another thing that can cause confusion. Are you paying for the therapist's time ie 1hr for $60 or are you paying to get something 'fixed'?

The contract I made on the phone when the initial booking was made was to sell an hour of my time for the agreed amount. I have never met the client so how am I to know what will transpire at the initial appointment? After an initial physical assessment and the first treatment I should have a fair idea if I can help my client and thereafter the terms of the exchange are somewhat different.

Incidentally the term 'fix me' is as bad as the term 'my neck is out'. Wanting to be fixed implies that something is broken and that the client is willing to divest responsibility onto the therapist and make it their problem! No!!!! It is the client's body, when they leave I do not live with their pain or injury - they do!

I explain to clients that I am not God, I cannot fix anything. I merely try to set up a stimulus into their body to cause a response - preferably a healing response. There are just so many factors that I can't control such as their body use habits, nutrition, stress levels etc. Many times the type of therapeutic intervention needs to be changed. Perhaps the response would be better if I tried a different style of massage, maybe not - there are many questions at this early stage.

To say that I know what is best for a client at the first appointment, in most (not all) cases is sheer arrogance. We need to build a THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP to understand how we can best work togeather for optimal results.

After the first session, you would still be paying for my time but my time would not be for sale unless I truly believed, on the evidence presented, that I could help.

So what happens when the appointment time is up and you are better but not 'fixed'?

I'll answer that tomorrow!