People often want to how to find a good Massage Therapist. What constitutes a good Massage Therapist? That's a loaded question, and hard to answer because individual preferences and needs vary. One area to begin your search with is to look at the experience of the therapist. As in the real estate mantra "location, location, location!" You might want to adopt this as your mantra, "experience, experience, experience!"

It's hard to beat experience! There are many wonderful Massage Therapists coming out of New York's great schools, they are chock full of knowledge, and have learned some great techniques. I've had some great treatments from new graduates, but when it comes down to challenges where average or conventional techniques fail, a good Massage Therapist will have some other "tricks" up their sleeve.

I call it my "bag of tricks." The more years in practice, the more conditions you get to treat. The more you get to treat, the more you will see that not everything works on everybody. That's when you discover through trial and error, or through remembering that obscure little technique some long forgotten teacher showed you, or you may have asked your colleagues what to do about this or that and found something that worked for you. Years of collecting these little jewels make for a good Massage Therapist.

Another thing to look at is the therapist's background. How broad, how varied, how specific has their education or experience been? Depending on what your needs are, you may want a therapist that has very specific training. Most people are looking for someone that has a broad approach, and yet has studied several, or many, specific techniques. In that way, the Therapist can draw on a broad base of knowledge to apply when the situation calls for it.

What most people don't know is that in many states, including New York State where I base my practice, a Massage Therapist has completed at least two years of higher education and received a certificate or an Associates degree. Most of the course-work is science classes, some of which are; neurology, physiology, anatomy, myology, oriental anatomy, business ethics, and some practical application or actual massage class. Upon successful completion of this schooling, they are then allowed to sit for their State Board Exam. After passing the Board Exam, and paying the appropriate fee, that individual is then licensed by their State to practice Massage Therapy. It is important to note that the impersonation of a Licensed Massage Therapist (L.M.T.) is a class E Felony in New York and in many other States, as well. That is the same as impersonating a nurse or a doctor! In your search for a Massage Therapist, make sure you are being treated by someone that is licensed in your State or home country……not some other state or country! New York and a handful of other states in the U.S. have exceptional schools and training.

Deirdre O'Malley, L.M.T.
Essential Therapies
631-589-6680