{"id":1482,"date":"2019-03-20T09:00:32","date_gmt":"2019-03-19T22:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/?p=1482"},"modified":"2019-03-19T09:49:32","modified_gmt":"2019-03-18T22:49:32","slug":"whose-approval-do-we-seek","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/2019\/03\/20\/whose-approval-do-we-seek\/","title":{"rendered":"Whose Approval Do We Seek?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

(An evidence-based view of the status of massage therapists)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

By Rebecca Barnett<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I am a bit of a broken record. Pretty much any time I\u2019ve had the opportunity to speak to a big bunch of massage therapists or write to an audience of massage therapists on social media, I end up talking about professional esteem. I have done it so often that I am even starting to bore myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The self-image of many massage therapists is such #fakenews that I feel impelled to correct it, repeatedly and emphatically.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The idea that we\u2019re the healthcare equivalent of the dog that gets kicked doesn\u2019t stack up in my book. If I had a buck for every time I heard a massage therapist refer to the \u201cstigma of the massage industry<\/em>\u201d, I would be a wealthy woman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am still not entirely sure I know what the stigma of the industry is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I have written on this blog before<\/a>, most members of the public seem to go misty-eyed and wistful when you mention you\u2019re a massage therapist, and quietly sigh, \u201cI\u2019d love to get a massage\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The belief that we\u2019re at the bottom of the healthcare system hierarchy seems to be substantially based around a pretty hefty obsession with third party payment \u2013 the deeply held conviction that massage therapy should be subsidised, either through Medicare, DVA, Workers\u2019 Compensation, the NDIS or a private health insurance company.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Which is weird when you consider that those at the very top of the health professional pecking order (and the most highly remunerated in the healthcare biz) \u2013 medical specialists \u2013 don\u2019t seem to be too bothered about the claimability, or lack therein, of the services they provide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Talking About a Revolution<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a quiet revolution happening in front of us and, for some unaccountable reason, we keep averting our eyes. Maybe it\u2019s because it seems counterintuitive or perhaps because it doesn\u2019t fit with our negative self-talk, but there\u2019s a reason why physiotherapists and chiropractors want to have massage therapists working in their practices, and the evidence of it is staring us right in the face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The public demand for massage therapy is bloody high. We\u2019re bringing clients to the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I talked a bit about this \u201chidden\u201d revolution, way back in 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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