Find a Therapist

This is just a quick update to note that the Federation of Holistic Therapists have a page on their website that allows you to find a therapist in your area.

You can search for a very wide range of treatments (more than I realised existed, in fact) and in a variety of locations as well as by postcode.

The results show various practitioners who are members of the FHT so don't look for me as I am not a member.

While you are there go to the Home page and have a look around to see what the Association does and also check the education pages if you are thinking of improving, or even starting, your qualifications.

The links are on the resource page and are shown in the (now moved slightly) Resources from My Blog section. The link is here.

Reflexology and conventional medicine

There is a big difference between the way that conventional medicine works and way that a holistic treatment like reflexology works.

Conventional medicine works by trying to stop whatever is causing the symptoms of the problem by whatever means it has found that works. So it treats each symptom each time it occurs.

If you have a headache caused by stress, conventional medicine will give you a pill to stop you being aware of the pain. You will then have to take a pill each time stress causes you to have a pain in your head.

But the doctor is happy because the pain is 'cured' and the pill manufactures are happy that they have sold another pill.

Holistic therapy works by treating the whole body as one unit and a pain anywhere will prompt an investigation to find its cause.

Thus, in the headache example, the holistic therapist will spent time asking questions to ascertain that the headache is caused by stress and will then treat the stress not the headache. This reduces the stress level and the headaches will disappear because the problem was treated at source.

Holistic therapy treats the whole body by considering that illness is caused by problems in the flow of vital energy around the body. It is the manipulation of this energy that can cause the flow to return to normal and this helps the body to heal itself. In other words, holistic therapies try to help the body in it's long term goal of self-healing and rejuvenation.

Reflexology, and other treatments like acupuncture, use this energy and try to restore it to help the body to heal itself. But this treatment works at the body's own pace which is why it takes longer for some than for others and why, sometimes, nothing seems to happen for a few treatments.

Talking to the clients

Reflexology is slightly different from many massage therapies in that you are directly in front of the client while you are working.

Since a reflexology treatment is very relaxing it is almost inevitable that these two things spur the client into conversation and most clients tend to talk to me while I am working. Also many clients see me as a person to whom they can talk about their day-to-day problems.

When I first started, I was never sure how to react to this but over the years I have realised that this is something that 'goes with the job'. Older female clients often have no one else to talk to about the things that are troubling them and I find that I am used as a nurse, social worker and confidant all rolled into one.

I have accepted this now and I try my best to do two things. Firstly, I try to be attentive, supportive and helpful on the one hand and then I do my best to forget all about the conversation, the client and their problems the moment I set foot outside their door. And, of course, anything they say to me is treated in the strictest confidence.

It is, however, I believe, an important part of the job as it helps clients to feel relaxed and I believe helps their treatment.

Reflexology and shoes

One of the things I notice most about feet is the damage that is caused to so many of them by poorly fitting shoes.

As you would expect, this is mainly a problem that women seem to suffer and it seems ridiculous to me that we cause ourselves so much pain and aggravation for no real reason other than fashion.

Shoes should be snug and comfortable because shoes that are too narrow, too short or which fit poorly will cause foot problems and can be a cause of hip, knee and back pain.

The best advice is to allow plenty of time when you choose your shoes and ensure that you try them on several times and walk around as much and as far as you reasonably can.

This might seem like rather obvious advice but from the look of some of the feet I have seen recently it is advice that is worth repeating.

Following on from this, if you have corns or other painful areas then it is worth seeing a chiropodist and, if it helps you, there are usually mobile chiropodists in most areas.

7,200 nerves!

This is one of those interesting facts that you should have in the back of your mind (or written on the back of your hand). There are approximately 7,200 nerves that begin somewhere in the body and have their ending in the feet of an average person.

There, so now you have it! And this is why reflexology can work on the whole body just by massaging the feet since all of those 7,200 nerves can be manipulated and massaged (although not individually!).

The areas of the body are divided into zones which are mapped from the body directly onto the feet and it is within these areas that reflexology is applied. By manipulating these nerves the brain receives signals that encourage it to produce chemicals to relax the body and which also help it to self-heal and rejuvenate.

The nerves that feed down into the body also run the length of both arms and into the hands although there are not so many of them, I believe there are approximately 2,500 in each hand. It is for this reason that reflexologists prefer to use the feet for massage but that does explain why the same treatment will work on the hands.

How to treat disabled people

Reflexology is an excellent treatment and, rather than being denied to disabled people, it should be encouraged as it can be of great assistance. However there are some important rules to remember.

Firstly, moving people in or out of wheelchairs, in or out of hospital beds or moving them around to give access to their feet is subject to one important rule.

Don't do it unless you know how (and if you're not sure if you know then you don't)!

You can find out how to do it properly by doing a course in manual handling which usually lasts just one day.

Aside from laying yourself open to prosecution if you cause an injury, moving people in wheelchairs or in hospital beds is for experts. If you are at a hospital or hospice, then get the staff to do any handling necessary even if the disabled person says it's OK. If you can't get anyone to help you then keep the disabled person where they are and bring the treatment to them.

If you have to adjust more than their legs or feet to perform your treatment then tell them what you are going to do before you do it and get their approval first. Don't assume that you can move their limbs in the same way that you might move your own limbs or that of a member of your own family. Also, be aware that it can take longer for disabled people to re-adjust themselves so move them slowly and with care.

That said, however, I have treated several disabled people and patients in hospital and care homes and it has been a very satisfactory and helpful experience for them and also a treatment I have enjoyed giving.

What do other countries charge for reflexology?

I recently had the chance to see the rates that they charge in the USA for a mobile reflexology session. I don't know, but I assume that it is the same sort of treatment that we give here in the UK.

The rate quoted was around $50 to $60 for an hour so, taking two dollars to the pound, that gives a session treatment cost of about £25 to £30.

So far as I am aware that is for a mobile reflexologist and includes travel and everything else. The figure quoted for clinic reflexology was higher at around $80 or £40 for a session.

That equates more or less with the cost of treatment here in the UK – or, at least, it does for areas out of London or the South.

However, travel in the USA must be cheaper since the price of petrol (gas) is so much less. I think gas is around $2.30 a gallon which is about £1.60 and, since there are about 4.5 litres to the gallon, that makes the cost of gas in the USA equal to about 40p a litre. That is a lot cheaper and will make the cost of travel so much less.

I estimate that I can travel around 7 miles for £1 worth of petrol so, taking into account the journey there and back, this is becoming a significant percentage of the charge that I make. This is especially so since I travel quite a distance to see a couple of clients who live out of the town.

What other comments do people have, both practitioners and clients?