18 Jan 2021

Is online work as enjoyable as hands-on?

“I’m a hands-on therapist, I’m interested in working online, but I can’t see how it would be possible”
So many massage and holistic therapists say this to me, when I tell them I help therapists take their expertise online.

Do you feel the same? What do you think about working online? Are you worried that you might not enjoy working online, as you are so used to working with your hands?

As therapists, we use our hands instinctively to get the results the client is looking for. I’ve had a lot of therapists ask – “how can we give clients the same results without using our hands?”

So here’s something that might help:
Think of yourself as a coach, rather than a practitioner.

As a massage therapists, you already have the skills you need to be a coach. But you might not automatically recognise them, because you think all your skill is in your hands. It’s not.

When I first started doing coaching/mentoring, it amazed me how much my experience of doing consultations came into play. It is definitely a slightly different skill set that we need for online work. But we all have that skill set from years of being a therapist!

So instead of our hands knowing what to do and making someone feel better, instead we tune into and work from the part of us that has the patience, compassion, ability to listen, understanding AND all the information and knowledge that can help our client.

THATS the part of us, our expertise, that we use for online work.

I love doing coaching, because, unlike giving a massage, it’s not ME doing all the work. The client has to play their part too! It’s a different way of working – but we know how to do it!

Remember – we can be more than just our hands. So much more!