Visiting a bodywork therapist for the first time can be an unsettling experience. Even if the practice and therapist came recommended it is more than likely that you are still not sure about what can be expected.

Unlike so many other first-time therapist appointments, the one with a physical therapist can be somewhat scarier. First, there’s the aspect of touch for which you may need to allow a stranger to enter your personal and physical space. Then, on top of that, there may also be that layer of fear that comes from not knowing how bodywork exactly works. You may even wonder if it will work at all or, worse, whether it can hurt or injury you. Do you actually need it? Wouldn’t it be simpler to see a doctor or a medical specialist?

Then, if questions about the bodyworker’s ethics and professionalism are not already on your mind, we believe they should be. Unfortunately, the field of bodywork has long been tainted by malpractice. As I write this I am aware that over the last five weeks no less than four people filed for legal cases against therapists here in New Zealand alone. One considerable problem is that here anyone can call themselves a bodyworker. It’s considered a vocation or occupation; not a profession.

If you are already aware of this you may rightfully be wondering how physically and emotionally vulnerable you can allow yourself to be in the presence of someone you may never have met before.

Simplifying your decision making

It is hard for any new client to assess whether we are the right practice, the right therapists, with the right bodywork offerings for them. Although it may take only one session to have all these questions answered, that one session still takes time, and still requires a financial investment. Especially when you are a busy person who lacks the luxury of time and ample financial means, even that can be prohibitive. So, with that in mind, we wondered what we could do to make it all easier for you. We believe we may have found an elegant answer.

An Intake Assessment was always split in two parts. The first part usually consists of a conversation during which we introduce our work and ourselves, and where we answer any preliminary questions you may have. Then, during the second part of that session, we demonstrate some of the methods and techniques we may use to treat you.

We always believed that you had to be here, at our practice, for that entire session. That meant that we would book you in for one hour, and that you would have to travel back and forth to be present for that visit.

When we looked at that approach again we realised that this may not be the easiest way for you to figure out who we are and what we do, only to be able to determine if you want to work with us. More precisely, what occurred to us recently is that you actually do not need to be at our practice for that initial conversation. We wondered “how about we remove that first part of the Intake Assessment and make that something like a pre-session – that can be held by video conference?”

Introducing online pre-intake sessions now…

I speak of this train of thought as if it was still only an idea. It isn’t any longer. From Monday, October 31 we will be offering pre-intake sessions online.

How is this going to work?

Step 1 – Select Pre-intake Sessions from the booking system

The first thing that you’ll notice when you go to our Booking Page is the inclusion of a Pre-Intake Session option in the menu. Once clicked, you will then follow the same process as with any other type of booking. The differences lie in this option’s duration – which is set to a standard duration of 15 minutes – and the fee, which is set to $15.

Step 2 – Receive the confirmation email

Once you completed your booking you receive an automated response by email, including all details of the session you just scheduled. A link to the Zoom meeting will be included, which requires one simple click to enter the meeting. It’s pretty much all set and done for you.

Step 3 – Attend the meeting

At the time of the meeting, all you need to do is to click the link that’s included in your confirmation email, then to sit back, relax, and think of the questions you wish to ask us. Then, after that pre-intake session, you can decide whether you want to book your first ‘real’ bodywork session, or to give us a miss. Of course, if you decide not to work with us we, we will exclude your registration details from our mail list.

Discovering bodywork, the easy but proper way!

When we established Advaya Healing we decided that we would find ways to make our work available to a widest possible audience. We believe that by launching this initiative we remain true to that intent. We can only remain trustworthy if we also help our new clients set realistic expectations of what we might and may not be able to achieve during the sessions they plan to commit to.

We believe that if there is anything we can do to strengthen the trustworthiness of Advaya Healing Bodywork further, we will do so. This is one of those things…