Legitimacy
September 18th, 2019 by Stephanie Farrer
I never knew a blog post could cause so much controversy!
Some “Inside Baseball”: In this spot before was a post that I THOUGHT was about the struggle to find and express legitimacy as a massage therapist. I began by talking about a run in I had with the new owner of my building over a piece of my new lease. There were terms in the lease that alluded to the fact that I could not perform “illegal activities” in my office—and I had a chat with him about what I do being legitimate massage therapy vs. anything illegal. It was a funny story. After that I spoke about my experiences in the past about trying to explain who I was as a therapist, the kind of work that I do—and how important that is to me now. I explained how I learned this lesson the hard way after leaving the last office I worked in, and some of the things I said came off the wrong way. I could tell that some of my patients reading the post were upset and protective of me when I read their comments. I didn’t like that, so I deleted it.
I worked for HOURS on that blog post. It wasn’t fun trashing it. But, I never want to come across through my words in a way that I don’t actually FEEL. I do not feel upset about any of the stories I shared, in fact, I feel much BETTER now. I want to keep this blog very “free form”, I like having a way to communicate my thoughts right off the top of my head. We express our legitimacy through everything we do as massage therapists. I always try to keep this in the back of my mind, I express my legitimacy through my words and actions—even in how I dress. That was the point that I was trying to get across. The point of the post was to say that we as massage therapists are the ones responsible for making our own legitimacy, and I still firmly believe it. And I certainly still believe that it is our own responsibility to speak up whenever someone does not understand the value and legitimacy of the work that we do. With “businesses” out there pretending that they are providing Massage Therapy when they are not, this issue is more important for legitimate massage therapists than ever. Even here in my small town, these things go on. It can be hard for the public to determine what real Massage Therapy is and should be. We also struggle with healthcare providers who do not fully understand the work that we do. In both cases, it is our job to reach out and educate so that we change perceptions about Massage Therapy overall.
I shared the original blog post with another massage therapist—and really good friend—and after speaking with her, we have agreed that we will come back on video together to talk about it. Legitimacy is a vitally important issue, and it deserves a place on this blog. I think that being able to see and hear me speaking on this topic will help to get my point across.
Update! I had a GREAT chat with my friend Willow (the friend mentioned above) and decided to upload it to YouTube so you could see it here.
I’m so glad now that this topic has been addressed. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this blog, I truly appreciate it. If you are in pain—or just in need of a great massage, please don’t hesitate to call or email me.
—Stephanie
Legitimacy
September 18th, 2019 by Stephanie Farrer
I never knew a blog post could cause so much controversy!
Some “Inside Baseball”: In this spot before was a post that I THOUGHT was about the struggle to find and express legitimacy as a massage therapist. I began by talking about a run in I had with the new owner of my building over a piece of my new lease. There were terms in the lease that alluded to the fact that I could not perform “illegal activities” in my office—and I had a chat with him about what I do being legitimate massage therapy vs. anything illegal. It was a funny story. After that I spoke about my experiences in the past about trying to explain who I was as a therapist, the kind of work that I do—and how important that is to me now. I explained how I learned this lesson the hard way after leaving the last office I worked in, and some of the things I said came off the wrong way. I could tell that some of my patients reading the post were upset and protective of me when I read their comments. I didn’t like that, so I deleted it.
I worked for HOURS on that blog post. It wasn’t fun trashing it. But, I never want to come across through my words in a way that I don’t actually FEEL. I do not feel upset about any of the stories I shared, in fact, I feel much BETTER now. I want to keep this blog very “free form”, I like having a way to communicate my thoughts right off the top of my head. We express our legitimacy through everything we do as massage therapists. I always try to keep this in the back of my mind, I express my legitimacy through my words and actions—even in how I dress. That was the point that I was trying to get across. The point of the post was to say that we as massage therapists are the ones responsible for making our own legitimacy, and I still firmly believe it. And I certainly still believe that it is our own responsibility to speak up whenever someone does not understand the value and legitimacy of the work that we do. With “businesses” out there pretending that they are providing Massage Therapy when they are not, this issue is more important for legitimate massage therapists than ever. Even here in my small town, these things go on. It can be hard for the public to determine what real Massage Therapy is and should be. We also struggle with healthcare providers who do not fully understand the work that we do. In both cases, it is our job to reach out and educate so that we change perceptions about Massage Therapy overall.
I shared the original blog post with another massage therapist—and really good friend—and after speaking with her, we have agreed that we will come back on video together to talk about it. Legitimacy is a vitally important issue, and it deserves a place on this blog. I think that being able to see and hear me speaking on this topic will help to get my point across.
Update! I had a GREAT chat with my friend Willow (the friend mentioned above) and decided to upload it to YouTube so you could see it here.
I’m so glad now that this topic has been addressed. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this blog, I truly appreciate it. If you are in pain—or just in need of a great massage, please don’t hesitate to call or email me.
—Stephanie
