We all know that the mind, body, and spirit are indivisible: we can’t treat any one aspect of a person without the whole being affected. That being said, each therapeutic discipline has its domain, and way of healing. Somatic therapists generally provide therapy in a physical way, whether it’s hands-on or through the senses. Psychotherapists, on the other hand, care for the emotional, spiritual and social aspects of a person, and the medium is the relationship.
During World War II, the number of soldiers, particularly fighter pilots, suffering from disfiguring burns skyrocketed, which inspired a revolution in the field of reconstructive surgery. Prior to the 1940s people generally died of severe burns due to the shock. One doctor in Britain, named Archibald McIndoe, was charged with treating hundreds of RAF pilots whose hands and faces were often barely recognizable, and therefore did a lot of experimenting, both in keeping people alive and in putting their faces back together.
I was reading Everyone Needs Therapy the other day and found her post on therapists getting paid that contained this insight:
" . . . patients want to think that their medical providers are very rich, as money is the generic symbol of success, and they don't want to be seeing an unsuccessful professional. So you thinking that I'm actually worried about getting paid probably worries you.
Creating a solid business model for a massage therapy practice can be a daunting task.
Let's look at Massage Envy* as a single case study to determine what they do and how it works. While creating a therapy franchise is the least appealing business model for an independent therapist, there are a few key elements that can be incorporated to strengthen your plan.
My kid has been sick this week so sorry in advance for "phoning it in" on this post. I've collected a few good articles for any therapist concerned about the ever-growing medicalization of mental health.
By the way, Jules Evans over at the Politics of Well Being has an excellent blog. The writing is creative, cogent and fascinatingly interdisciplinary. I could eat up with a spoon -- Love it. I got lost (in more ways than one) on the site for hours last night.
