The Discounted Therapist

In a culture that seeks to spend the least amount of money on their services and products it's easy for a therapist to undervalue themselves. It seems we have forgotten the age old saying "You get what you pay for".


When someone can get a massage from a deal site for $19 an hour why would someone spend $75 for the same type of massage from me? As soon as these thoughts creep in I no longer feel worthy of the money someone is giving me because someone else is accepting less for the same modaliy. This feeling of unworthiness leads to a dangerous line of questioning that pulls me deeper down the rabbit hole.
Am I greedy for asking "so much"?
Is the massage really WORTH it?


I stop asking the questions and slash my prices with everyone else. After all, I am a massage therapist to help people improve their quality of life by decreasing pain, not pad my pockets. 

Five years a therapist and not a single price raise, it seems I'm actually accepting less money per session now, half a decade into my career, than I did straight out of school. Discount here, Special Offer there. 
Less and less income means bills are the only things getting paid, sometimes not even all the bills.


Finally, I take a step back and realize that not only am I suffering with the lower prices but my clients are suffering with me. With the dwindling of funds upkeep of my supplies, sheets, and my own body have been pushed to the back burner. Even a great therapist needs great supplies, and personal care, to optimize their giving. So in essence, by shortchanging myself I really shortchange my clients and for that I'm sorry.

How these massage companies use deal sites and provide a decent experience for their clients I'll never know. I do know that I only want to give the best for my clients, and with a price that barely covers the rental of the room they are not getting it. With the new year coming I pledge to change.

I will stand firm in my fee because I know I am worth it. 
My clients are worth it; I will allow myself to get paid an amount that I can order the best oils, creams, sheets, aromatherapy, muscle therapies. 
My future is worth it; I will allow myself to be paid an amount so I can afford to get therapy for myself so my tools stay sharp and last longer.
My sanity is worth it; I will allow myself to be paid an amount that I can have a percentage to donate to great causes I believe in but are unable to support with today's finances.

But the question of WHY still lingers. So lets delve deeper. I am worth it because the massages I provide aren't fluff. The massages I provide are not only relaxing they are restorative. Every person I lay my hands on my intentions are to help cure them of an ailment, be it stress or pain. With each stroke of my hand I am waking up my client's body, and helping the body do what it does best, heal.

After every massage I am motivated because I see how much I can change someone's week, even life in some occasions, with a simple touch. Now before you think my ego is too big to fit in the doorway I wnt to express that every therapist is capable of such results. They just have to see it in themselves and understand the science of massage and how the body works.

Massage provides: movement in a world full of stagnation, silence of the mind in a life full of noise, relaxation in times of high stress. I could go on for hours about the benefits of touch and that alone makes me realize massage is worth it, every penny. Does knowing make it easier to accept money? No, it really doesn't. If I could do massage free of charge I would. But sadly that isn't the society I live in. Money is necessary for life.

Help me give life to my passion by buying local and staying away from deal sites and other companies that undervalue this beautiful and therapeutic career.