Julie Onofrio's Blog (16)

I was just looking for a better way to start communicating with other massage therapists on this topic... and thought about a bulletin board and remembered this forum.  I am surprised but happy to see a few people still on here posting.

Why is massage not covered by health insurance in your state yet?

With the OPIOID epidemic in the news everyday - why is massage therapy not yet the main answer to pain issues?

Don't tell me it is education or the lack of…

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Getting massage covered by health insurance is always a hot topic.  Many MT want to stay out of the healthcare business and not get into working with insurance and the medical profession claiming that it takes the 'art' out of doing massage.  The medical profession and insurance companies are seen as places that will eat massage therapists for breakfast!

On the other hand, getting massage covered by health insurance in every state can help the profession become more of a profession. …

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Massage Insurance Billing is a controversial topic. Many MT want to avoid it because of the challenges of extra paperwork and low returns.  They also are concerned that by getting involved in the medical process, they will lose their ability to help clients in the way they do now and will get mixed up in the 'fixing' mentality of insurance companies. 

 

Being able to bill for massage is one of the big factors that has allowed me to stay in practice for so long (23 years).  I…

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From my last post that created quite a stir, I have a new concept of research and the importance of it but now I see that my last post was more that I was and still am research illiterate! I was able to attend a great conference here in Seattle (OK I couldn't not go since it was a block away from my office) put on by the Massage Therapy Foundation called Highlighting

Massage Therapy in Complementary… Continue

I started another blog post on the future of the massage profession and happened to mention research. It turned into a discussion on research. I decided to start a new blog post.



I'm sorry, I just don't get research. I'm not interested in it really even though I do have more of a science background than most massage therapists (AA degree in Biology). I am interested enough that I do keep trying… Continue

I sometimes wonder about the future of the massage profession and where it might be in another 20 years. I know when I first started in 1987 with my little 250 hours of training, I would have never thought I'd last this long. Back then there was no such thing as getting a job in massage - a real employee job. Any job back then was an independent contractor. My rent was $100 in my first office space in a gym and that was split between 2 people!



I think the biggest change was in having… Continue

I have been having some really great discussions on here and on Facebook and my websites about the therapeutic relationship and what happens when you become friends with clients or engage in other dual relationships with them -nothing illegal like dating clients or sex of course but trading services like accounting or tax help and seeing clients socially.



I never was taught anything about this and in fact when I started out 22 years ago, massage was more of a lifestyle choice than… Continue

I have been doing some research on CE and am looking for info on why you take CE classes. I have a quick survey on my website that would help in giving me some info for my next online project - a CE Resource Center.



CE is needed in almost every state I think. The thing is that many take ce classes only because they have to and not because they want to improve their business. People find… Continue

After reading the results of a small survey that was done by one of the members here, I have to say I am still puzzled about the massage profession and what they are thinking..



A few of the points mentioned in that post say that:



- massage therapist feel that they are owed by their professional associations to do… Continue

You can't have a discussion group with massage therapist without having the topic of forming a union comes up. There are many sides to this -one that probably will be never fully answered.



I for one always just think it seems like the unions are the ones who have ruined the auto industry with their demands. What would a union do for the massage profession? What really is the problem in the massage job world? I've lived a sheltered life never having to get a massage job and always… Continue

Website Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is what helps get your website to the top of the search engines. While there are many parts to getting your website found by the search engines one of the easiest things to start with is the keywords you use in your domain, webpages and metatags of your website.



Think about what people would be looking for if they were looking for you - deep tissue massage austin, massage therapist, denver or whatever type of massage you do and where you do it… Continue

OK I am a website geek! I have been creating websites since 1999 when I started my site www.thebodyworker.com and have since created www.massage-career-guides.com to help provide as much information as I can about everything related to massage.



Some of the common mistakes people make when creating a website are:

• Choosing a domain name that does not reflect what you do and where…

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This has been one of my pet peeves in the massage profession - how to figure out if one is actually a subcontractor or an employee. After years (yes years) of reading and researching there is just no definitive answer legally and ethically is a whole other story.



I actually think that most massage therapists are being taken advantage of and most should really be full employees with full employee benefits. I just wrote an article on it on my full blog at… Continue

I am a big fan of getting regular weekly massage. About 5 or 6 years ago I actually even just started paying for them rather than doing them in trade which was a big step and well worth it. I learn so much about working with clients even after 20 years of being in this profession. I have to say though I have the toughest time finding competent people who stay focused on the massage and me when I am getting a massage. Is it just me being a massage therapist and being too picky or… Continue

I am starting a new group here for massage therapists to talk about their websites or anything related to creating a website or blog.



Do you have a website and it isn't being found by the search engines? Do you have a website and it isn't getting you any new clients or making you additional money on the side?



Do you want your own selfhosted blog to talk about massage for your… Continue

After 20 years of saying massage therapists shouldn't have to take more than 100 hours of training I am starting to think from all I am seeing and reading online that it should now be a 3-4 year program like in Canada. With more younger massage therapists entering into the field I think that they need more training than just 6 months to a year of massage school.



It just seems that the franchises are putting such a demand on the massage schools for people who will accept low rates of… Continue