Choosing the right therapist is crucial to the success of any therapy, but it is exceptionally important when it comes to massage. Why? Your sessions will be face-to-face, 1-to-1, and they involve touch. That’s a pretty intimate situation to be placed in with a stranger. It better be the right stranger.
Faced with such a choice, many will start with the massage therapist’s qualifications and experience, but then what? In a field as intuitive as massage, two different practitioners can have the same educational and professional background, and yet be offering a markedly different service.
Ultimately, you will be putting your health and wellbeing in the hands of this person. That should make it worth the extra effort involved in the research prior to booking. We’ll help you break this decision down into simple steps and questions that you should ask yourself or your intended massage therapist before you engage their services.
Table of Contents
1. Your massage goals
You should always start with your massage goals. What are you looking for? A sports massage therapist will be excellent if you want to remedy the results of a punishing workout, but a tantric massage practitioner offers a very different kind of service. You’ve got to match your therapist to your needs.
Here are some of the things you might be looking to get out of a massage: relaxation, injury rehabilitation, sensual stimulation, addressing muscular imbalance and posture problems, sleep aid, improved performance in sports, reconnecting with others (e.g. couples massage). It is perhaps worth mentioning here that it is questionable whether ‘detoxification’ is something your massage can do for you. It’s important to be realistic.
A good massage therapist will always ask about your goals or at least your preferences. Don’t forget to mention any injuries or other vulnerabilities that you want them to be aware of. Whilst you should absolutely use your own initiative to communicate your needs, a disinterested practitioner indicates that you would do well to seek your massage elsewhere.
2. Website and reviews
Nowadays it’s almost certain that you will start your search online. Be wary of trusting reviews blindly – they can be bought or counterfeited by an unscrupulous practitioner. Go to TrustPilot and the massage service’s Google My Business profile for the most trustworthy reviews. But be careful even there.
Sort the reviews by date and ignore anything over a year old. If there is an abundance of five star reviews, check the tone of writing and reviewer names – do these seem like they’ve been written by different people?
Disregard one star reviews that criticize absolutely everything, these will usually be people with a bone to pick. Look out for the specifics: is a particular massage therapist named as being excellent? What for? Are particular aspects of the massage mentioned as being exceptionally good or bad? The most valuable information is not in the overall evaluation but in the details.
3. Qualifications
Your hunch was right – qualifications and experience are the first thing you should determine. If you are using a reputable massage parlour or massage agency, they will check these out for you, and you just need to enquire that everything is in order.
However, if you’re engaging an independent practitioner, don’t just take their word for it and ask to see the qualification certificate. It’s also a good opportunity to do a quick internet search on your intended massage therapist to see that nothing untoward pops up.
In terms of experience, don’t just look at the number of years they have practiced. Consider the overall reputation of the establishments they have been working at. Sometimes practitioners with little experience can nevertheless be excellent, whereas a good massage salon will not risk their reputation by working with poorly performing staff.
4. Feeling out the situation
Never book a package of massages from the start, even if that’s what you intend to go for in the end. Make a single booking and observe how it’s handled. First phone up or e-mail with some questions – is the therapist happy to answer your queries? Keep in mind that massage therapists work throughout the day and it might not be realistic to expect a reply within working hours or even the next day.
For your first booking, go with a simpler, relaxing massage and only request deeper pressure if you like the way your massage therapist is conducting the session. There’s nothing like booking a deep tissue session off-the-bat and then being stuck in a one-hour session with someone who is mauling your spine. Start off slow. And if you’re a ticklish customer, we have something in common, so here’s a tip: there are experienced massage therapists out there whose touch doesn’t make you jump. It just takes time to find them.
Final thoughts
When you get home, reflect on your experience. Now you have a qualified, experienced massage therapist who is a good communicator and whose touch feels comfortable. It’s a match? It is for now. Keep tabs on how you’re progressing towards your massage goals and adjust your requests to match your journey.
Massage therapists do have something in common with mental health therapists: sometimes a particular approach is perfect for your needs at the time, but as your circumstances change, you might need to try something different. Don’t be afraid to have a session with someone new once in a while, even if only to benchmark your experience.
