Where to start with holistic therapy

vicki98_2

I'm intersted in training in holistic therapies, hopefully to lead to a change of career in the future but I'm unsure where to start.

Has anyone any experience of this?

Someone has suggested I will need to begin with anatomy & physiology but at what level?

Are there any other good starting points or relevant courses to kick start this?

Any help/suggestions out there?

Magnolia

Hi Vicki

Anatomy and Physiology starts at level 3 - in our college you will do Swedish Massage along side it and once you qualify it will open the doors to the other holistic therapies on offer.

paulwf

Hi Vicki,

This topic crops up every so often on this board and the general theme seems to be that it is very hard to make anything more than a part time living out of it. Simply put the money is in training other people to be therapists not being a therapist yourself!

Have a dig and see if you can find any old topics although I know the search function isn't brilliant. All I advise is that as you will be working for yourself you should be thinking about what fields will be most in demand and most profitable FIRST and only then work out what qualifications will be best. You need to investigate what qualifications customers will look for not just those that teach you the skills you think you need.

As boring as it sounds put a business plan together first...you'll need some outlay on equipment, advertising and perhaps premises for starters.

vicki98_2

Thanks!
I've found a few old topics on this around here and found a few useful pointers but agree it does seem that people generaly find it a difficult career move. I think I have got to the stage where my current job has become so stagnant that I just fancy trying something new, even if I have to do it alongside my current work!
Holistics just appeals to me for various reasons and I think even some training will at least keep my brain ticking over even if it does take me years to get anything out of it!
As for A&P courses, does anyone know if theres a difference between online study & classroom based?

Savvy_Sue

I'd be a bit concerned if I thought that someone touching my anatomy had studied the subject online rather than with a real body to hand.

Also 'holistic' is a rather broad term, and while it's sensible to consider what makes money, it's probably better to think first what you're passionate about, and also how way out you want to be.

Also bear in mind that massage is physically demanding, not all touchy-feely-floaty for the masseur.

Kimitatsu

Speaking from personal experience - I am trained in several holistic therapies, first place that I would start is a Mind Body Spirit Show. They have lots of therapists there giving taster sessions for nominal sums and its a good way to see which therapies resonate with you. After all there is no point in training in a therapy that actually yuou either dont believe in or that you dont enjoy doing!

ALL therapists will need an A&P qualification under the new rules coming in, so its best to get one under your belt sooner rather than later. For me, I dont put an awful lot of store in online courses for therapists, I feel that you really need to get hands on esxperience and when it comes to case studies if you have a college teaching you face to face then you are covered by their insurance to begin with. So for me I have always had taught courses by a college or school which is afiiliated and runs approved courses by a governing body, that way there is no doubt about MY competance as a therapist.

My advice is to shop around and look at the course content and who they are affiliated to, if they are not recognised by the governing body of that therapy then they are literally not worth the paper they are written on - every course you do should enable you to be lsited on the governing bodies website as a qualified practitioner. The local colleges run some good courses, or pick up any holistic magazine and there are often more in there.

Things to think about, it is difficult to make a full time living out of it, so part time certainly to begin with is the way to go. What is the competition like for the therapy you want to do in your area? If you are starting out with a relatively new therapy, how are you going to explain to people what it does and how are you going to get them through your door. How are you going to fund your training and your set up costs? Every therapy needs some basic equipment, couch, uniform, text books, first aid certificate, insurance,and premises either your own, the clients or a salon to name but a few. If you make an appointment to see Business Link they will help you to set up your business and make a plan to take to the bank - its best to set up a seperate account - and will also tell you of any grants that there may be. For every therapy now you also need to show continued professional development, so you also need to factor in how you show further training year on year, either by doing more therapies or taster courses or attendance of local groups such as the Federation of Holistic Therapists.


Dont know where you are in the country but there is a massive Mind Body Spirit Fair being held in London at the end of May, you could take a trip down there for a couple of days and see which therapies you fancy doing

Oldernotwiser

vicki98 wrote: »

As for A&P courses, does anyone know if theres a difference between online study & classroom based?

Many Holistic courses requre you to have a GCSE in Human Physiology which you could study part time at your local collegeor by distance learning if that suits you better.

Savvy_Sue

As for premises, my massage therapist works out of a GP surgery a couple of days each week. Not sure how the costs compare to similar rooms in other premises, and it's not as nice as when we go to her home (too much background noise), BUT she does get some referrals from the GPs, and I think it adds to her credibility. Mind you she is a qualified nurse and still does some practice nurse shifts (at a different surgery), and she is very well qualified and experienced - might be harder to get through such a door when newly qualified and without the breadth of her background.

Deep_In_Debt

A&P is essential as others have said, it would be good to get that under your belt first. I did mine at a local college 2 evenings a week and it's a recognised course.

I'm a member of the Guild of Holistic Therapists (The Beauty Guild). Their website has a list of courses approved by them, in various parts of the country. The Federation of Holistic Therapists and other bodies will also.

I work around my other commitments with the holistic therapies - there is no way that shall be giving up my full time employment just yet to go full time at therapy.

In terms of rooms etc, local sports clubs, beauty salons, hotels etc may let you rent space from them but you'd need to check out costs etc.

Good luck.

Kimitatsu

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Many Holistic courses requre you to have a GCSE in Human Physiology which you could study part time at your local collegeor by distance learning if that suits you better.

It depends on the type of therapy you are doing, when I first started out I did Reiki and I had to have no previous qualifications at all. That is due to change but which therapies were you considering Viki? It might help us to give you more specific advice It may be that you could train and then add an A&P course on as a CPD course dependant on the therapy.

If you have a doctor who is open minded then even if they dont have rooms then you could possibly put some leaflets in there. My doctor refers people to me, and has an aromatherapy masseuse available in the surgery.

Deep_In_Debt

It may also be worth trying your local hospital. Whilst I was visiting, I noticed
leaflets and notices on various noticeboards advertising holisitic therapies. I've seen cards in local shop windows and ads in local papers. You can also advertise on websites and various holisitic ones too.

I did A&P to do Indian Head Massage and Hopi Ear Candling but didn't need it for Reiki. I did A&P as a first step anyway as i thought it would be a good for getting into holistic therapy.