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Vehicles and Destinations
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It seems replies to blog posts are limited to a certain amount of words, I'll ramble on over here ;)
This post is in reply to: The Future of our Profession
Well, now that I'm on a tear, let me further this. Perhaps it's off topic, but seems relevant to me.
IMHO, there are two issues here: Vehicles and Destinations.
What is your vehicle and what is your destination? As an example, let me provide an example off-topic, and then I'll bring massage into this.
I work with a lot of people in regards to religion, spirituality, enlightenment, etc., etc. For many, religion or spirituality is the vehicle, enlightenment is the destination. Many get this confused. Many think the destination IS the vehicle, or more importantly, they think the vehicle is the destination.
Same applies to massage. Massage therapy is your tool. What is your destination? What do you want? How do you define yourself as a successful massage therapist? How do your clients define you, or define their success or their success with you?
For me, success is loving what I do, being happy, solving my client’s issues and making a living. A great living. I'm a businessman first and foremost. Massage therapy is my current vehicle. I've worked hard to point my vehicle in the right direction so that it leads me to what I define as success.
Many perform massage part time, for minimal money, make their clients happy and that is success to them. Many want income along with previously mentioned; this, to them, is success.
If you include income into the formula and are not generating the income you want, what do you do? You find the vehicle that gets you there (to your destination.) Perhaps the vehicle is medical massage. Perhaps it's becoming a Lomi Lomi expert. Perhaps it's moving on to becoming a PT or a DC.
To tie this back around to what I see is the theme of the original post is this: "Judgment of those who are not doing what I do." An example would be, "I have 1,000 hours of medical massage training and you perform Swedish part time, so I'm better than you are." They not only think this they express it! ....and what's worse, they are forming these little sub-cults and promoting it! Yes, I will call this a cult. Blindly following someone or some teaching or some belief assuming it's the only 'way.'
Back to my previous post about many I work with that have much more training that I do. They still hold this attitude even though I point out to them that Mary down the street, performing Swedish only, makes much more money than they do. "But I'm so much more educated and have more experience!" Sorry, doesn't work that way. Again, how do you define yourself? What's 'being a successful massage therapist' to you? If adding 2,000 more hours to your resume floats your boat, great! If working part-time pulls your trigger, good!
Sorry folks, I just don't understand this, 'big fish in a small pond' attitude.
Kris
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Comment by Mike Hinkle on February 17, 2011 at 11:21pm
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So keep coming back and keep it going but, I'm holding onto you.... as a straw man, right? It can end anytime you quit arguing the point.
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I understand enough Bodhi to know, we don't need you to figure out our problems thank you! And you DO NOT have a grasp of what we face here.
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Comment by Las Vegas Massage In Summerlin on February 17, 2011 at 8:47pm
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This blog post nudged me to dig out a book I read years ago, Touch of Life by Dr. Robert Fulford, D.O. I highly recommend it to anyone!
Here’s a passage from the beginning of the book:
“…As a result, contemporary medicine is facing a crisis. It insists on considering a human being merely as an object of science, which is a one-sided approach to treating symptoms. Symptoms must surely be understood, not merely combated.
The medical profession is based on scientific research, and while scientific research per se is valuable, there’s more to healing than obtaining the test results of modern studies. [Ed. Note: Evidence based massage therapy?] For there are aspects to humanity that science will never explain, and these include morality, love, the spirit and the soul.
It is the task of our age to recognize humankind as a whole once more – each of us a being of spirit, mind, and body – without abandoning the knowledge we’ve gained through science. By studying the interrelationship of those three elements in detail, it will be possible for us to recognize that individual matter is the physical carrier for psychic or spiritual substances.
When we accomplish this, patients will no longer be regarded as if they were disease processes to be halted or problems to be solved, but as people in need of assistance in balancing their physical, mental, and spiritual dimensions. Without question this should be the new direction of modern medicine, and it is one that is long overdue.”
Dr. Fulford’s Touch of Life
Robert C. Fulford, D.O.I’m all for evidenced based massage therapy. What works for me is the understanding that evidence is only what we know; there’s much more that we don’t know and I accept that. I also do my best to not look down upon those modalities which I don’t know, or, don’t have a huge history of ‘evidence.’ :)
Kris
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And those three provinces are seperated by Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec. Not to mention no control for you in the Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Prince Edward Is., Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
Canada is not unified. It is more split than we are. I have found Canadian schools certifying as low as 250 hours with very little time searching. You are trying to use what your CAMTA up there, because it has been able to convince three provinces to do so, to be our entry level here.
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Bodhi, your national alliance of MT organization is a group. Just like AMTA.
It controls the occupational word "Massage Therapist" in 31 % Canada or as you are now for the first time saying (all provinces except Quebec.. now finish it and say and none of the territories) instead of CANADA. And forces those with less to be called spa therapists. There is no one voice in Canada. And there is no one voice in America.
Well if 31 % of Canada equals 90% in your books.... all the more reason to let your system be evaluated for a much, much longer time.
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All the stakeholders you invited, that accepted and attended. Same thing as the MTBOK here. Many were put on a list, many were invited, some did not attend. I do not believe all stakeholders in Canada participated and agreed as I see 69% are not part of your group or one voice.
Our massage therapists include what you cal spa therapists. And we like that thank you. If not those that wish your system can form a consortium and create guielines for whatever they want to call themselves.
500 hours is our standard so get over it. And poll after poll says it should be. I don't care if it took you 5,000 years to develop it. When was it approved and how old is it? You looked at the other parts of Canada, I'm sure. But the fact is you have only three provinces, that you are calling Canada.
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There you go again. This is for three provinces in Canada. You are like AMTA. You are a part but you try to speak for all. You keep saying Canada. Three Colleges agree to the Inter-Jurisdictinal Entry-To-Practice Competency Profile for Massage Therapists. 69% of your CANADA does not. And even in your three provinces there are schools of massage that do not comply to these standards. Your effort is to create a tier system in America. It is obvious.
Your Regulators work just came about in June 2010. A mere half year, so it would seem to need a little time for research and reevaluation of the program before it goes international. I do not believe after looking at the product you are saying is needed for Entry Level To Practice is anything that we will accept in America.
If we were to create a massage college, or if it were for an advanced certification, it may be possible. But for entry level to do massage in America? Not hardly. Doesn't mean I'm against education. It means I'm against forced education when it is not needed.
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Is the Consortium the ones that created this?
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Nice try, Bodhi. I think it all started with you trying to address the forming Alliance and I hope all will review, what you and many others from Canada think of our system. You made it very clear that if we keep everything as is, we are in the dark ages.
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The document (pdf) file on that page highlights the creation of your rules. Was this in place prior to the creation of the Massage Therapy Consortium, that very few folks know about? And why after only those schools that were invited and the creation was done, was no one else allowed to join? It shows nothing being done since the AMTA convention four years ago in 2007.
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