About Me
Whilst studying my MSc Health Psychology I decided to focus my dissertation research on the benefits of Reflexology and how people experience treatments. At the time Reflexology was a relatively new treatment and was facing scrutiny from the general public and other health professionals.
In my research not only did I look into the scientific studies surrounding reflexology and other holistic treatments but also spent time with practising Reflexologists and their clients to see treatments being performed, the interaction between client and practitioner and how the overall treatment was experienced.
Listening to clients explain how reflexology had helped with so many issues (ranging from problems conceiving to MS) I began to think that maybe there was more to it than ‘tickling feet’ – as my dad often refers to it!
When I finished my dissertation I was keen to learn how to do reflexology myself – wanting to understand more about it but also treat people , helping them as I had seen other reflexologists do for their clients.
I enrolled on a year long course which at the end provided me with a qualification to practise. Along side this I also did a diploma in Anatomy and Physiology – an essential aspect to providing a good reflexology treatment!
Throughout my course I provided treatments to family, friends, colleagues and afterwards began to advertise as a Reflexologist.
So many people these days advertise as a Reflexologist – but don’t have the necessary qualifications, and so many higher end spas/salons offer Reflexology which isn’t necessarily provided by a qualified Reflexologist (in these instances my dad is right – you do just get your feet tickled!).
That is why I wanted to be registered with the best and the ‘right’ people. I gained membership of the Federation of Holistic Therapists (FHT) and also with the Government and Department of Health backed Complementary & Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC). On top of this I registered with the NHS Trusts Association as well.
As a therapist I have 3 key ‘believes’
1) The treatment should be ‘client focused’. This is your treatment and your time – if you want to sleep, then sleep, if you want to chat, then chat, if you like firm pressure this will be applied. Essentially all treatments are based around you and what you want to get out of it.
2) My prices are fair. So many people charge over the odds for mediocre treatments. I also don’t believe in excluding people from accessing treatments such as Reflexology, I offer block booking discounts and concessions, just contact me and we can sort something out!
3) Promote Reflexology. As I mentioned before – Reflexology and holistic treatments on the whole sometimes get a bad press for being nothing more than a ‘nice’ treatment. By providing a professional, thorough treatment I believe that reflexology should be used as a complementary therapy. In some cases it should be used along side modern medicine, as both can work together to provide a truly ‘holistic’ treatment. This way Reflexology will continue to build a good name for itself as the beneficial health treatment it is and hopefully we can push out the ‘feet ticklers’, leaving us only with the excellent, professional, qualified, Reflexologists.