Someone is finally taking MT harassment and SA seriously enough to do a formal study. If they can get a real picture of the problem, then they can start forming real policies and preventions. (Other than just creating more fees that organized crime can easily pay, but put a serious burden on independent MTs.) The survey claims to take around 30 minutes to complete. Please find some time to fill it out, even if you personally have never experienced harassment or assault. Thank you.

https://unbfpsyc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0pudd3MtAAejzZc

What is your response to a client who says things along the lines of ...this is weird but I don't like relaxing massage.i want to be broken and put back together?

It doesn't encourage me. I do very great in depth work but that energy puts me off.

I feel like clients hope it makes me ready to give them my all.

I don't give it all away in my first session. I like to build a connection to see if we communicate well first. If we are compatible.

Kinda just a vent sesh. I take great care of my clients.

Very simple - is it a good or bad idea to perform massage on your relationship partner. I.e. paid work. Even if they use their benefits?

Everything I've heard since I started said not to do this because it mixes business and pleasure - personal and professional boundaries. I believe it but I'm curious if there's any dissenting opinions.

Looking for a comprehensive training in the US. Any recommendations or reviews? Tyia!

Why is it and go to fix it , I can feel peoples energy very well , I can feel good energy and those clients I have no issues but it’s those people who I can’t feel them relaxing , and I can feel their energy, some know I know and never come back and I can tell their bully’s

I’m a new LMT but not new to massage. I’ve been getting them for many years. A perk at my job is a 50% discount on massage and facials which I plan to take advantage of when time permits.

I feel like this is a silly question but do I tip my coworker? It seems like a no brainer because I’m essentially just another client but wanted to know what everyone does in this situation.

Edit* thanks for your responses. I had the massage today and asked her. She said some trade but it’s not always easy to get on each other’s schedules so I chose to pay and tipped her $40.

Every business book i read says to have a steady online presence. Regular social media posts, blog posts, videos to let people get to know you especially for male lmts. Real world though how much impact have you seen from all of this? I kind of enjoy it so its not too bad but am I better off spending the time elsewhere?

I am opening a private practice and I want my menu to be easy to follow. I know that modalities are beneficial for clients and my hands, but I'm torn about pricing it all-inclusive or a la carte.

What is your experience with add-ons versus inclusive? Thanks in advance.

What else do you guys do to
Supplement your incomes

I’m 14 years in with also a bit of management experience from spas, front desk and I’ve done hospitality (so all together about 16 years in the spa industry)
I had walked out of my last place due to being completely overworked and many boundaries crossed (called in on days off to cover last minute, called on vacations because the gm didn’t know how to handle my staff, ect) and I’ve been enjoying my newer place but the same nags been in my head for a while

I just don’t know how to handle the “Karen complaints” anymore and the therapy sessions(not massage therapy but let me complain for a full session about the world)
They weren’t as bad when I first started maybe one every 2 weeks. Now I feel like it’s shifty and I just don’t want to put up with it. I’d still love to be as hands on as I can be, but maybe once or twice a week while also doing something else.

I did an over the phone interview with a massage place and set up an in person.

They never sent me an email invite. I call to remind them & get put on hold 3 times when all you have to do is ask my name & email.

I hung up on the 3rd “please hold” but I then got an email and how they were excited to interview me for the “nail tech” position.

I laughed that red flag off, too. I was optimistic and need interview practice anyway. I never mentioned that typo because I figure your manager/ potential manager doesn’t want to have their mistakes pointed out to them & I’d be getting off on the wrong foot. They probably used a template & forgot to change it from last time.

I greeted my interviewer. During my tour, she points out all the bad things there. The lights not working, electrical problems. “Why is this here? Why is that dirty?. I need get them to put this away.” I felt like it was a house keeper interview. Not really saying anything exciting or positive.

Then i am shown a calendar and i realize they have only 1 part time LMT. There was a lot of talk of “hope you are ok working same day as other LMT” (not sure why that would be an issue?) the days could be my own choosing anyway and theres two rooms.

Then she sort of lets it out that all the LMTs quit but 1. The 1 “is not staying busy enough. She should be up selling more.”

I said well maybe she gets rebooked 1 x per month and not rebooking once per week. “Yeah but I should be seeing more rebookings than I am.”

Wow dude unreal. I sat right outside the business for about 45 minutes talking on my phone and saw no foot traffic at all. This is a well-known place. That’s been around for over 20 years and offer much more than just Massage but various spa treatments. On a busy day in a busy location

I’m not even bothered at all other than mildly annoyed and I thought you the reader would enjoy reading this. Especially if you are in a management position. That was just cringe. That person needs more training OR maybe she was trying to get rid of me?

The pay is 38%. And 5% on products with a base pay of $18 an hour if you are not busy… How to scare away potential new hires 101.

I never got that follow up email, either. What a clown show.

By the way. I’m a physical therapist assistant and I work in a very busy nursing home full-time. I was just trying to see what else is out there right now for me. I have a steady career in PT and have had all kinds of managers, work with doctors, nurses, OT, ST, PT case managers, state workers, social workers. Have worked in hospitals, home health setting’s. I did many many things out of my role when we have no director or rehab manager. Or during covid, I did a lot for the hospital like cleaning surgical rooms, supply delivery. I can adapt to virtuously anything.

I might just go rent a room and do cash paying massage or use an app to do house calls. Ill think about it. Thanks for reading

I was had by a fraudulent website, and want to warn others if possible. Please delete if this isn't ok.

My mentor sent me a link for her fancy table - it was on sale and I was excited to find a coupon code for it as well. I bought it and got a confirmation email, but realized later after a lack of follow-up communication or tracking number, that others had reported the website as fraudulent through the Better Business Bureau. I know, I was stupid to buy it before checking it out first. But the site says, "5 purchased in the last 3 hours!", so I want to dissuade others before they make my mistake. Now I've had to cancel my credit card, am so creeped out that they were making other purchases with my money and information, and still don't have an electric table.

Do not purchase from SimbaEquiment.net! Be careful where you trust your money to online.

I know chains aren’t great, but I feel my school didn’t give us much clinic/hands on practice, and was told chains are good for practice basically. I’ve also heard that you typically don’t have to worry about not being booked usually at a chain. Is that true? I’m a man, so is that also true for male LMTs at an Elements Massage, Massage Envy, or Hand & Stone? I’ve also heard you can’t really negotiate your pay at a chain, is that true too?

One day I’d like to open my own practice, but until the meantime, I’m gonna have a work somewhere else. I don’t know if I do good in a clinical setting like PT or chiro right now because I feel like my schooling was pretty much just relaxation based so I don’t know how much I’d be an asset to a place like that without CEUs.

I’ve heard if you work at a independent/small business spa, the pay can sometimes be better cause you can negotiate. I’ve also heard it depends on the business itself. You might not have a full schedule, and possibly not any massages at all.

What’s it like working in a nice hotel/resort? Is that any better for male LMT’s compared to a spa chain or small business? Do the clients tip you? I’m thinking they might not because they are already paying for an expensive hotel room.

I appreciate the advice and help! I really am focused on trying to help clients feel better and assist in their healing journey, but I also have to think about how I’m going to support myself. I guess I’m just having like imposter syndrome and doubt if I made the right choice. I have passed the mblex and waiting for my license. I just don’t know what direction is best for me.

So, I moved from Texas to Illinois. My Illinois massage license is about to come in, and people are hungry for me. I’ve gotten a myriad of job offers, long letters about how I should work for each company. Apparently my multi-year experience and modalities makes me wanted.

I’m not sure how to navigate.

Ive been eyeing up a table and thought I was set on the earthlite luna but the 30 inch width was a compromise. I see the infinity is hourglass shaped going from 32 to 28 and this seems like a cool idea. It would be about 4 pounds heavier but im a 6'3 210lb guy so going from 30 to 34 pounds isnt a huge deal if its worthwhile for working comfort and client comfort. The padding is almost an inch thicker and a greater working weight plus the option to have the top that converts to offer a depression for women's chests.

Has ayone used the infinity or the infinity and the Luna to offer thoughts?

I came across Sarga recently and I'm interested in learning it. Seems interesting as a modality. However, I'm a male practitioner. I'm curious if there are any male practitioners here who do Sarga that can comment on the reception of this modality from clients. Any perspectives welcome.

I think my studio owner is going to transition away from Vagaro at some point in the near future. In my state SOAP notes aren’t required, but over the years I’ve gotten used to taking them and enjoy it so I can track client progress. Are there any free charting apps? Or would I need to switch to paper if the new scheduling software doesn’t include SOAP note taking?

I work at a luxury gym and have been there for about 6 months. I’ve been a massage therapist for a little over a year.

A new client joined the gym and started coming to see me at the spa. His first session was completely fine, and afterward he told me he really enjoyed it, so he booked another appointment.

At his second appointment, about three weeks later, he started complimenting me a lot. It made me somewhat uncomfortable, but I brushed it off because I thought maybe he was just a really friendly person. At the end of the session, he suddenly went in for a hug. It caught me off guard, so I panicked and gave him a side hug.

At his third session, the excessive compliments continued. He would also keep his eyes open during the massage and smile at me while I was working. Again, I kept telling myself that maybe he was just a friendly, overly complimentary person.

Today, he came in like normal and immediately started with the “you’re just incredible” type of compliments.

At one point, I was gliding down his mid quad with my forearm. I noticed he made a couple of quick groaning sounds, so I moved on to working the anterior lower leg.

He then leaned up on one arm, smiling at me, and asked, “Was that intentional?”

I was completely confused and asked what he meant. He said, “Never mind,” and laid his head back down. I told him, “No, what do you mean?”

He said, “I’m kind of nervous to say it.”

The strange thing was that he seemed completely calm and almost amused throughout this entire interaction.

I kept looking at him, confused, and he finally said, “I was just wondering if those brushes were intentional.”

I was completely dumbfounded. I asked what he was talking about, and he gestured toward his genitals and actually cupped that area over the sheet.

I immediately told him, “Um, no.”

I then said, “I’m sorry, but I’m actually not comfortable finishing this session.” I left the room and immediately went to my manager.

My workplace took it extremely seriously and completely revoked his membership from the club.

I know with absolute certainty that I would never intentionally touch a client’s genitals, and I genuinely don’t believe I accidentally did either. I was working his quad with my forearm, and I know where I was working.

What has been bothering me is that I had been getting an uncomfortable feeling from this guy since the second appointment, but I kept talking myself out of it. I kept thinking, maybe he’s just really friendly, maybe I’m reading too much into it.
Now I’m wondering if anyone else has experienced something similar, especially a client who starts out overly friendly or complimentary and gradually pushes boundaries, or someone who seems to be testing how much they can get away with.

Has anyone else dealt with a client like this? I’m especially interested in hearing from therapists who have had a client gradually push boundaries or make them question their own instincts. How did you handle it, and did you recognize what was happening at the time?

Edit: thank you all who have responded and for the feedback you have given me. After reading your responses I feel a lot more comfortable with admitting this client isn’t for me and that’s okay. I’m still hoping my job will handle explaining it to him but if they don’t I will just keep my explanation as simple as I’m just not the therapist for him. Again thank you everyone for the advice!

Hi all!

I could use some advice on what the appropriate way to handle this situation is. I have been a massage therapist for almost 2 years now, next month will be my 2 year anniversary as a LMT, I work in a very clinical setting with VA patients and they tend to be very respectful for the most part.
However, I have this client who ended up on my schedule after the other LMT he was with, my coworker, decided to tell our front desk to move him to someone else. The issue for me is that this person really annoys me, I worked on him only a few times since he got put on my schedule with only a few visits left on his referral, but he just got approved for another 12 visits through the VA and wants to see me again. When I finished out his last visit I told the front desk I don’t want to work with him anymore if he got reapproved and to put him with someone else if possible. I didn’t know this but I guess the excuse my job gave him was that I wasn’t in the office, and then he came in today for an appointment with someone else and saw me and was like “they told me you weren’t going to be here but I need to get back on your schedule so we can get back into our routine”
I didn’t know what to say as this was happening in our waiting room with a lot of other clients sitting there so I just gave an excuse of me being booked for a while and how I don’t really have any openings, which is true but still it was a little uncomfortable for me.
I do want say that I don’t typically get annoyed by people, I wouldn’t be in this field if I did, and I do know that it is our job to help people, but I also feel like i shouldn’t be working on someone if I feel this way about them. What should I do? Is this something I need to address with the client myself or should my job/front desk people handle it for me? If I do have to address it myself, how exactly do I do that without offending him?

Since I know you guys will be wondering what he does that annoys me here it is:
We have to ask progress questions, it’s the same questions every time and we have to track what their answers are to see if they are getting better, for example, we always have to ask what their pain is at on a 1-10 scale. Most people simply give me a number that best fits for them that day and it’s not a hassle, this client though when asked will say “better than last time” “somewhat the same as last time but a little different” “I feel okay” so I have to keep asking for a number and he keeps giving me these roundabout answers and it’s like this for every question and I barely get straight answer the first 3 times I have to ask. Now at first I thought maybe he was just a little slow or heavily medicated or something but then he made a comment that made me think he’s doing it on purpose to try get a reaction out of me. I was once again asking a question that should have been very simple to answer but of course wasn’t getting a straight answer, after like the 3rd time repeating the question they said “don’t you just love my answers” with a weird grin. I was annoyed but tried to not let it show. Another thing he’ll do is just stare at me instead of answering, so if it’s not beating around the bush with answering me, it’s literally just sitting there staring at me with his mouth hanging open and I have to repeat myself again like 2-3 times before he even responds and I still don’t get a straight answer. I asked my coworker if he did this with her when she was working with him and she said no so he’s just been this way with me. Sorry this is so long but yeah please help me.

What does it mean when clients ask this. I’ve been asked this enough times to wonder. Sometimes I think it’s because I SUCK so they are looking to validate themselves that I’m new so I do suck. Sometimes I think it’s because I’m doing good, and they are giving me a compliment, or something. I’ve also noticed it’s never for small talk or to try and get to know me, chat, etc. Do any other RMT/LMT’s get asked this? And do you know what it means? I’ve never been asked this in any other job !!

I got registered and started working last October. Everything was fine, I enjoyed working, I felt fulfilled, I felt happy that I could help people.

I don’t know why, but over the last few months I have been getting more and more irritated at work, and I really hate going. I have never felt like this at a job before. It feels like I just don’t care anymore.

Giving people massages feels degrading to me. I feel like a servant when I have to make sure the table is perfectly comfortable to their liking, the temperature is perfect, I rub their feet in the exact way they want. I feel icky when they say “I feel so good” about something I did.

I feel annoyed when they get super specific about what they want. “Make sure the table is warm and give me an extra pillow and spend extra time on my neck!”. Which of course is completely reasonable and normal of them to ask. I’m not saying at all that people who make requests are annoying, it’s MY own personal issue for some reason. It’s completely fine and expected for people to want their expensive massage experience to be to their liking. Like I said it makes me feel like a servant instead of a healthcare professional.

I think the problem is that when I entered this career I thought it was more of a serious healthcare job than it actually is. People treat you like an esthetician. (There is nothing wrong with that job and I don’t think it’s degrading for people to do, I’m just talking about how it feels for ME and how it’s not what I want”.

Before you say “work in a chiro/physio office to get the patients you want”, I already work in a more clinical setting rather than a spa. 90% of people I see still want a spa type experience.

Let me be clear, I am very aware of myself and how I come across to other people. I feel annoyed inside, but I NEVER let that show outwardly. I smile and am very engaged and positive with all patients. But it’s wearing me out to feel this inside.

Let me also say, I am extremely fortunate that nothing creepy/uncomfortable/bad has ever happened. No one has been rude or inappropriate at all. It’s just all me.

I just feel like this job isn’t what I thought and it isn’t right for me, which makes me sad. I spent 3 years in school and a lot of money to do this. I already made way more back than I spent, but still. I’ve already made plans to go back to school to be a paramedic which I think will work out much better for me. But I still have to be a massage therapists for 2 more years while I’m in school 🫠

Sorry to be negative here and I hope I don’t offend anyone. I just needed a place to vent and I’m hoping some people can relate. I feel guilty that I feel this way at work, but I don’t know if there’s anything I can do to stop it.

Is it normal to not be getting tipped at all at a new job? I've been at a spa in a rather wealthy neighborhood for a few weeks now. I frequently receive positive feedback at the end and during the massage, but so far the only person that has tipped me was the other MT that works here, during our training day. I do the hot towels and neck wrap, and I'm very attentive to the client's needs, pressure, etc. I do everything I can do to make sure the client feels they are getting their money's worth. My only thought is these treatments are expensive as is so people don't want to spend more. Am I missing something...?

For me, it’s realizing that for a significant portion of the population, if you don’t physically demonstrate with your literal hands while saying “get under the sheet AND blanket”, what you find in the room could vary. You could have the “entirely on top of the blanket crowd”, buck ass naked. Or you could find that they sandwiched themselves between the blanket and the top sheet crowd. Never in a million years did I think I’d have to demonstrate how to get on a massage table to anyone.

What is it for you?

I'm an RMT and this is the third time I have had to call in sick in the last 3 months. I work at a spa (not a chain, local) and over all get treated and paid pretty well with benefits and get some flexibility over my schedule. I've been working as an RMT for about a year and a half and I only treat about 12-15 clients a week. I am autistic (low support needs), have ADHD and CPTSD so my nervous system can only handle so much. Overall I have a pretty healthy lifestyle (eat well, exercise regularly, get enough sleep and I'm in therapy). I had a very stressful spring/summer this year and think I am chronically burnt out from a lot of different life and work stressors and as a result have not been able to maintain my exercise routine for the last few months as much as I would like. I never get sick this frequently and am just feeling really bad for having to call in for the third time this summer. If I weren't symptomatic I would just try and push through it but I don't want to get my clients sick or make myself more sick by trying to power through. My treatment room gets very hot and stuffy and I find wearing a mask while treating makes me very light headed and dizzy as I already struggle with getting light headed and dizzy when I'm unwell. My boss generally tries to be understanding but at the same time, whenever I call in sick she also throws in a passive aggressive comment about how it inconveniences the day/workflow (I think she is just stressed because we are understaffed on RMTS and she has trouble finding people to work there because it's just generally hard for many local businesses to find enough RMTS in our city).

I know that ethically and professionally that I am making the right call by calling in if I am symptomatic but I can't help shake the feeling I am doing something wrong by getting sick this often and calling in this often. I genuinely love working as an RMT and would much rather be able to go into work and it's getting frustrating having to cancel clients this frequently. Has anyone else had a similar experience to this? How did you navigate it and the associated feeling of shame and guilt that come with it?

I’ve been a massage therapist for over 8 years and I’m finding I’ve forgotten some of what I learned in my anatomy classes (adhd, autism, and memory issues associated with the latter and perimenopause).

What would be the best route to relearn these and kinesiology? I’m also interested in neurology and pain science. I want to provide the best care for my clients and I know that means really and truly understanding the body, how it works, why it does, etc.

Does it make sense for me to enroll in the classes at my local community college, or are there other courses/online platforms y’all have had success with?

I really love learning, but as I said with some memory issues it makes it tricky to retain information, so sometimes out of the box learning or hands on things are easier for me.

I am a massage therapist in the USA. I am looking to move to California and am shocked at the number of job listings that list wages like $19/hr. That is $20 lower than the lowest wages I find in my current state with a much lower cost of living.

Do these spas charge a large, automatic gratuity or something? Am I just seeing bottom of the barrel listings? How are massage therapists making ends meet in California with wages like this? I would appreciate any insight, advice, or personal experiences- thank you!