KNOW THE LAY OF THE LAND: The term “Registered” Massage Therapist (RMT) is a slight misnomer as there is no Canadian registration process or national regulatory body, leaving each province responsible for their own rules.  The interpretation of the term in Canada is more around whether the therapist has:

• Met the required education requirements in their province :
  • Alberta has a 1,000 hour diploma requirement
    • Alberta is currently moving towards regulation with collaboration of the below mentioned associations and the provincial government, certain changes are underway but not official as yet.
      
    • It is expected that a 2,200 hour diploma will soon be the minimum education requirement, however existing therapists will be grandfathered if they satisfy a formula of base education, continuing education and years of experience.
  • British Columbia has a 3,300 hour diploma requirement
  • Every other province has a 2,200 hour diploma requirement
• Are a member in good standing with a provincial massage therapist association which provides:
  • A membership number which appears on the receipt for treatment so that it can be submitted to the patient’s Extended Healthcare Insurance Provider in order to be reimbursed for costs in accordance with their specific plan
  • Insurance that ongoing continuing education requirements are met
  • Malpractice and liability insurance coverage so that the therapist and the patient are protected

KNOW WHAT YOU WANT: “Therapeutic Massage” means different things to different people, so you need to evaluate what made past treatments successful for you.  If you know that a specific technique like deep tissue massage or CranioSacral Therapy was helpful, search it out this time on purpose!  With the list in hand, talk to friends for feedback on the RMTs they’ve tried with consideration to your established list.  Alternately you could search:

• www.YellowPages.ca
• Natural Health Practitioners of Canada membership listing
• Massage Therapist Association of Alberta membership listing
• Remedial Massage Therapy Association membership listing

Another consideration to your choice is whether you are seeking resolution to a symptom you are experiencing or a relaxation massage.  A therapist that needs fast results with competitive athletes or rehabilitation cases tends to be more technical out of necessity whereas a resort or spa therapist is often (but not always) less specific as they may only see you once and don’t have the benefit of continuity of care nor the time to spend interpretting your medical history. Each style has its place, it is just a matter of what you are looking for.

Once you have a few leads and clarity about what you want it is a good idea to interview them ahead of time on the telephone.  Think of it like a verbal Bio — Ask about their education, years in practice, preferred massage modalities, types of clients they deal with (athletes, WCB claims, etc) and some references.  If you are satisfied with the answers to your questions and you feel that this person might be a fit, book at appointment! All the education and techniques in the world are not worth your time if you don’t like their style of treatment,  so at some point you have to bite the bullet and just give them a try.

My own style is quite unique as I consider the big picture, past history of illness and injury, and then I use an Integrative Healing approach for longer lasting results.  Many people have commented that one of the things they like the best about seeing me is that the mystery of why their bodies argue with them is revealed and resolved which leads to a much better day to day quality of life.

If you’re curious, book an appointment with me.  What have you got to lose?

Cheers!

Dena Liebrecht, RMT, SMT(cc), CBP, ESMT

Helping Okotoks & the Calgary area achieve their ultimate quality of life through Integrative Healing (therapeutic massage)!