Which Type of MT Are You?

How would you define a "massage therapist"?

That's actually an important question in our profession. The answer governs how:

• professional organizations serve us.
• states write massage regulations.
• schools structure their professional training programs.
• national chains work with us.
• we talk to each other about what our profession needs
• we see the future of our profession.
• continuing ed is (and isn't) developed and offered to us.
• we want the public to see us.
• we identify and work on problems in our profession.

Here's the thing: there isn't one definition of "massage therapist". There are at least 5 valid "sectors" of MTs (based on my experience and observation; there could absolutely be more). As long as we fail to recognize that, we've got problems in all those situations I listed above.

Each type:

• defines its goals differently.
• attracts clients for different reasons.
• has its own priorities when it comes to initial and continuing education.
• has a different vision of the future of our profession.
• has different financial opportunities.
• even has its own language / vocabulary.

And each of them are a valid way of being a "massage therapist".

By the way, these sectors are not exclusive. There is overlap between many of them. Massage therapists can also practice in more than one sector.

Medical / clinical MTs are deep into the physical anatomy. They are drawn to solving problems and helping people improve their physical functioning. You find them in chiropractor offices, working with PTs, sometimes in hospitals. They are drawn to working with athletes, the ill, and anyone else with a condition or problem to solve.

Asian medicine MTs work with clients primarily through the modalities from the Eastern traditions. Ayurvedic. Shiatsu. Acupressure. They can be similar to the medical / clinical crowd but they're using different tools.

Energy healing MTs are drawn to working with the energetic body -- chakras, auras, etc. They are the "woo-woo" community in our midst.  :)  Reiki, Brennan, Donna Eden, chakra clearing are all types of energy work.

Spas are environments that work to provide a specific kind of relaxing, soothing environment for the client. These MTs are also more likely to do skin treatments. They don't exclusively provide relaxation -- the often include offerings from the other sectors -- but they provide a lot of relaxation. This is the "feel good" segment of our world.

I've left health & wellness for last because I think this may actually be the biggest sector. I call them the jacks/jills-of-all-trades. They combine a hodge-podge of modalities in their work and address a broad spectrum of clients. A lot (most?) of our group practices are in the health & wellness because they often try to provide the broadest range of possibilities. The MTs who fit most snugly in this category aren't drawn to specializing in one of the other sectors. They like to mix it all up.

There are also our cousins / neighbors who are developing training and products specifically for us as well as those who are providing all that business development consulting.

A friend of mine is a librarian working in corporate environments. In her industry, there are recognized sectors / sub-specialities of librarians that have their own professional organizations, their own issues and challenges, and their own training. They don't, generally, fight among themselves about who's a "real" librarian and who isn't. They recognize each other as deserving of the title "librarian".

Why don't we do that? Why are we still fighting with each other about what a "real" massage therapist is? How much energy would be freed up if we stopped these arguments for something more productive for our profession?

Based on some of the invective I've seen and heard, the answer is "a lot of energy".

I'm definitely in the "health & wellness" sector with my other foot in training and business development. My clients come for relaxation, to have pain reduced, to live more peacefully with long-term conditions, and often just to cope with living long enough to have age-related issues. I use more clinically-oriented techniques like myofascial release but I'll also do some chakra clearing if that's called for. I'm eyeballing training for next year in lymph drainage, reiki, and acupressure.

What about you? Where do you find yourself, most or all of the time? What excites you and governs how you understand the massage therapy world?