What makes HANDS from HEAVEN so great?

Well this is Blog #12 for us and we have covered a few good points over the previous 11 posts … last week particularly we talked about what you should think about when you are looking for a therapist – what makes them a good choice over the others. This week I thought it would be prudent to highlight what makes us a great choice 😊. Let’s begin with what we talked about last week.

Professional Association Membership

Last week we looked at Professional Associations and how they provide the framework for professionalism in any industry. We also identified how important it is to find a therapist who is a member of an association, but exactly how does a therapist’s membership make things better for you?

By maintaining currency with membership to a professional association, a therapist commits to ongoing professional development … or more simply put – they are required to continue learning with respect to the Remedial Massage Industry, including research into the effectiveness of treatment and keeping up-to-date with new developments in a variety of techniques. It keeps their knowledge fresh and progressive.

For the general public – a professional association is an organisation you can contact to report issues of concern regarding a Remedial Massage Therapist and trust that your concern will be appropriately investigated, and action taken as necessary to ensure professional standards are met and maintained. In short, any therapist who can demonstrate their association membership can be trusted to be qualified, professional and responsible.

Qualifications

Last week we identified that there are basically 3 levels of qualification – Certificate IV, Diploma and Degree.

• Certificate IV in Massage Therapy is the entry level of qualification and trains a therapist to apply relaxation techniques only. They may deliver those techniques with therapeutic intent, but the training does not include any assessment protocols or remedial techniques and focuses on the superficial layer of musculature only. This training is not recognised as involved enough to be eligible for Health Fund Rebates.
• Diploma of Remedial Massage and Degree level qualification are obviously more involved, but the difference is mainly academic and from a clinical perspective one is about as good as the other.

Generally – any therapist who is qualified to diploma level or higher can be trusted to provide massage appropriate to your needs safely. You should also be able to use your receipt from their massage to claim on your Health Fund.

Assessment Protocols

Last week we discussed the 4 different approaches to assessment available in a clinical environment – Observation, Conversation, Palpation and Orthopaedic/Clinical Testing. We have said it before, and I’ll say it again here, each of these protocols are equally effective and useful. Therapists are different and individual just like our clients, so some will use different approaches – the important thing is that some form of assessment is completed before and after your massage.

Why is assessment so important?

• Well to start with it is part of the requirements for providers to continue to be eligible to offer Health Fund Rebates … so if we don’t assess you every time we treat you, we can have our providership status revoked (and that would mean you could never claim on our receipts again).
• The other very important reason is that assessment provides the evidence that your treatment has produced quantifiable benefit to you (i.e.: your pain is decreased, your mobility is increased, your headache is gone, etc)

Again – if your therapist isn’t assessing you, you should ask them if they are fulfilling their professional obligation to you.

Treatment Notes

This was the last topic highlighted last week, but there is not much more to say about it really … If you’re not quite sure why treatment notes are so essential, think about your Doctor – or any other Health Care Professional you go to – they all keep treatment notes, so why would a Professional Massage Therapist be any different? Treatment notes help us track your progress over return treatments by identifying what works well (or not so well) and allows us to tailor every treatment to meet your needs at the time.

SO – back to the big question –

What is it about HANDS from HEAVEN that makes us so great?

Looking at the list of identifiers above …

• All therapists that work here at HANDS from HEAVEN maintain their memberships with a Professional Association of their choice. Most of us are with Massage & Myotherapy Australia – Australia’s only national association exclusively incorporated for Professional Massage Therapists, and some of us are with the Australian Natural Therapists Association – an association representing a broader spectrum of natural therapies.

• All therapists that work here at HANDS from HEAVEN are formally qualified to Diploma of Remedial Massage level as a minimum standard. Most hold additional qualifications in other modalities as well, and Tony achieved a Bachelor’s Degree in Health Science (Musculoskeletal Therapy) in 2008.

• All therapists that work here at HANDS from HEAVEN assess our clients before and after treatment – some with orthopaedic tests, some with the more personal observation, discussion & palpation approach.

• All therapists that work here at HANDS from HEAVEN maintain accurate and up-to-date treatments notes – in accordance with our professional obligation but focussed on understanding our clients and how they present for treatment. Sometimes clients are surprised by what we ‘remember’ from treatment to treatment, but the truth is we refresh ourselves by reading previous treatment notes before your next session.

Beyond those points …

We are all dedicated therapists, passionate about what we do and how we can help you feel. We pride ourselves on being skilled at decreasing your pain and dysfunction and increasing your well-being and general health.

Our Core Values are built on reliability, consistency & availability:

• Reliability – to be here when we advertise we are going to be here, every time.
• Consistency – to provide high quality treatments every time.
• Availability – to be here with extended hours through-out the regular working week, weekends and Public Holidays so that you can get a treatment when you need one.

We have cemented ourselves into this community over 13 years and are driven by serving our community. We care about you, and always strive to provide the best remedial massage we are capable of, and we listen to you and how you feel … We understand that physical pain & dysfunction can be heavily influenced by how you feel, and the stresses life imposes on each of us … We work on & with the physical – but treat the whole person, professionally and with care and understanding.