By Paola Bassanese
Choosing the right massage therapist at a convenient venue can be time consuming and frustrating. People not returning your calls, lack of information on the website or simply too many therapists to choose from.
Here’s a short checklist to help with your decision making.
1. Choose a practitioner on the basis of existing online reviews or testimonials. Although testimonials on an individual practitioner’s websites can be amended and edited, reviews in outside websites are less likely to be interfered with. There’s pros and cons in both cases: testimonials on an individual practitioner’s websites are likely to be all positive and also it is presumed you have already found a practitioner; online reviews can be fake or some websites may only display negative reviews instead of positive reviews. The more online information there is on a practitioner, the better the profile.
2. List of qualifications and membership of associations. All qualifications should be listed in a practitioner’s online profile in different directories and on the individual’s website. Also check that the therapist belongs to an association so you can check their credentials.
3. Articles. Not all therapists are bloggers but if they have either press coverage or they have written blogs (or both) it means they have an established relationship with the media and can confidently talk about their chosen area of expertise. Check how knowledgeable a practitioner is on the basis of articles written and quotes in magazines as a media expert.
The list can go on but this is a good starting point. Enjoy your treatment.