GSJ

Hi,

I'm planning on setting up my own massage/accupressure therapy practice in the Mississauga/Toronto area. The plan is to offer services initially from home whilst settling in. Does anyone know what the demand is like for such services and what the typical rates are like for such therapies?

Also, is Mississauaga/Toronoto the best area to setup - I'm flexible with regards to location. I have PR status and am planning on moving with my family in the next 2-3 months.

Is anyone aware of how simple it is to setup such a practice - legislation, insurance etc? Will my diplomas, attained in the UK, be recognised in Canada?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Many thanks in advance.

Rete

I'm not Canadian but a Yank who works in Manhattan and I believe Toronto is very similar to Manhattan in the area of being a large metropolitan area with millions of workers who are stressed out and in need of massage therapy to loosen those tightened muscles. I know that I have a massage once every two weeks minimum.

A thought to get you started in building a clientele would be to go to large corporations and ask about setting up a freebie day for their workers in one of their conference rooms. Won't cost them anything and will offer you exposure to the people you need to build your practice.

Jingle

Hi GSJ - this site is probably your best first port of call .....http://www.cmto.com/ I have no doubt that you will have to get some sort of license to practice.

J

GSJ

Is membership of the CMTO required to practice hot stone therapy and accupressure? Or is this just for the practice of massage?

TrishP

In Ontario you need to be registered as an RMT to practice massage for money, as far as I'm aware. I looked into the whole thing briefly as I practiced aromatherapy in the UK, came here and thought there wasn't much point in spending the money and doing the exams to do it part time. Masage is a full-time course here for several years in order to register to practice.

GSJ

I've had a look in to the Ontario massage license and don't really have the time or money to register and sit their exams. I already have qualifications that are recognised in the UK. As I'm flexible with regards to location are there any provinces where there is no need to go through all of this? Alberta/BC ?

Tim E

We looked into this as my Wife has been a natural therapist in UK for the last 8 years. You don't have to be registered to practise massage but you do have to be registered if your clients wish to use their Health benefits to pay you. If they can't use their benefits then you won't be able to charge as much ( typically about half the going rate ) if they come to you at all

Tim

GSJ

So if I want to charge my clients privately and not through any medical benefits scheme then can I go ahead and setup my practice without registering (in Ontario)?

Tim E

Yep. This is generally the way spa's work, but you have to bear in mind that obviously your client base is going to be much smaller as people would prefer to claim from their benefit allocation than their own pocket. It might be worth getting in touch with your nearest Therapy college at the same time. They can make an assessment of your current qualifications and tell you what you need to do to bring you up to the Canadian requirements. When my wife looked at it it turned out that she would have to do a 1 year course to coer the new subjects that she wasn't qualified for such as Kinesiology and then she could simply take the exams for the subject's she was qualified in.