Massage is feeling the rub

HOLISTIC HEALTH: HARD TIMES:Therapies which are seen as extras rather than essential are haemorrhaging clients

MASSAGE THERAPISTS across Ireland have noticed a fall-off in client numbers in the past few months. Such is the extent of this fall-off in business that Judith Ashton, president of the Irish Massage Therapy Association (IMTA), has written an open letter to members this week, offering them advice on how to cope.

“Everyone is taking a hit due to the [economic] downturn and massage is often seen as an extra rather than an essential therapy so some therapists will have to be more resourceful and take on extra income streams,” says Ashton.

Galway-based acupuncturist Juliana Driscoll has a similar tale to tell. “It’s much quieter than before Christmas. I’m still getting hits on my website, but there aren’t as many people calling me up,” explains Driscoll who is considering offering a discount on her €50-an-hour fee to clients with medical cards.

According to Driscoll, Galway is “saturated” with complementary therapists. “There are about 45 acupuncturists registered with Irish organisations and up to 15 others registered with English associations,” she says.

“Business is going down for reflexologists and massage therapists too. In fact, I think acupuncture might survive better because it has a better profile for treating conditions.”

Therapists agree that the market at the most luxurious or cosmetic end of complementary therapy has already shrunk.

“I did a lot of facial rejuvenations [a kind of face lift using small acupuncture needles in the face] for which I charged €80 per session and it would take between 10 and 15 sessions in total. Well, that business is gone now,” says Driscoll.

So, how will complementary therapists cope with the reduction in business?

According to Driscoll, a lot of therapists will have to work part-time while others will learn new skills as a means of encouraging new clients. “Complementary therapists are constantly updating their skills anyway. I’m planning to study herbs,” she says.

Judith Ashton offers members of the IMTA some tips on how to cope with the recession. These include offering price reductions in the form of special offers (three massages for the price of two), keeping in touch with clients between sessions and simply asking for referrals.

“I’m saying to our members, you’ve got a commodity, make it as attractive and competitive as you can without devaluing what you do. There are a lot of very stressed people out there and we’re offering a very beneficial service. Massage is wonderful for dealing with stress. Personally, it’s my first line of defence,” says Ashton who also advises massage therapists to swop treatments among themselves.

The rural/urban divide is difficult to define in terms of loss of business. In some cases, being one of a small number of therapists in a rural area leaves practitioners less vulnerable to loss of business than in more competitive urban areas.

Darren Conroy and Kellie Taylor run osteopathic practices in Portlaoise, Co Laois and Tullamore, Co Offaly. “Our business is the same. We haven’t been affected by the recession,” says Conroy. “We treat everyone from babies to older adults in a few sessions. We give exercises and postural advice so that they can sustain themselves on their own,” he explains. “The majority of people who come to us view it as primary healthcare. It’s not a luxury but something that is necessary to help them get back on their feet.”

Conroy and Taylor charge €60 per session for osteopathic treatment.

Some therapists claim that rather than having fewer clients due to the recession, they are seeing just as many but with specific “recession-induced” illnesses. “There is a lot of anxiety, depression and fear out there,” says Anne Connolly, a registered homeopath based in Dundrum, Dublin.

“I’m seeing people who can’t shake off the flu that they had over Christmas and these feelings of not being in good health are tied in with anxiety,” says Connolly.

Declan Mohan is a businessman who works part-time as a homeopath. “I see a lot of male patients and anxiety is the number one complaint at the moment,” he says. “It’s the suddenness of the changed economic situation that is making people very uncertain,” he says. Mohan, who also works as a business mentor, says that we need to look at some of the positives.

“We have to remember that there are still 1.7 million people working and going about their business. I encourage people to recognise their fears, put a value on what they have lost and then it’s easier to move on.”

Some would say that complementary therapists are better prepared than most to cope with the stresses of less work. Judith Ashton acknowledges this point.

“It’s true that people who choose to become massage therapists have sometimes scaled down and chosen this work as part of a more meaningful career step but I always tell people on training courses not to give up the day job until they have really established a client base and that can take between one and two years to do.”