Student Massage Clinic

No, patients are not permitted to receive two or more treatments in the same day in our clinic. This prevents other patients from booking needed appointments, and does not allow the therapist to accurately or effectively address presenting complaints. On-line booking gives patients numerous options and flexibility for booking, however, please refrain from selecting more than one appointment on the same day.

RMTs and therefore, massage therapy students, are required to discuss each patient’s health history and presenting concerns prior to each massage appointment in order to determine the best treatment. Records are kept and reviewed prior to each appointment in order keep the discussion focused, however due to the nature of the learning environment, it is essential that student engage in this process with each patient.

Your therapist will explain to you what is suitable for the treatment. Typically you will be asked to remove most items of clothing, but leave on your underwear. Sheets and a blanket are used to cover areas not being treated. Your therapist will clearly explain all areas the you have agreed upon including in the treatment. They will not uncover any areas or proceed with treatment without your consent. You can leave any items of clothing on that you prefer. At times, treatment may be more effective with clothing on, such as while preforming stretching.

Yes, you can purchase a gift certificate from our front desk administration.

No, tipping is not appropriate in this learning environment, or in the profession of massage therapy. As regulated health professionals, RMTs provide a medical/health service and do not accept tips. Students welcome your feedback about their treatment. An evaluation form will be sent to you following your treatment. You can also request one be sent to you, or you can click on the Feedback button near the top right of the page.

Yes, you can request a specific student as your therapist. Engaging in an on-going series of treatments with the same therapist can very beneficial. However, students also need to treat a wide range of patients with a variety of presenting conditions and pathologies, therefore we ask that patients receive a maximum of five (5) treatments from the same therapist. We do our best to honour your request for a specific therapist, however due to a variety of reasons, your appointment may be moved from one therapist to another at any given time.

We run our clinic like any other massage therapy clinic. We aim to provide you with excellent care, and in turn we hope you have a positive experience and assist student learning. We ask you to respect the student therapists need to adhere to the following treatment model.

Whether you are new to our clinic or have visited numerous times, a health history interview and assessment are necessary on each visit, both to assist learning and to create a treatment focus for each visit to the clinic. If you have repeat appointments with the same therapist, the time needed for the intake process may decrease.

All regular appointments are 60 minutes in length. Your appointment looks as follows:

A 15-minute Health History Interview and Orthopedic Assessment: An in-depth discussion about your primary presenting complaint and a hands-on assessment including numerous tests to determine the cause and extent of presenting symptoms. Shorts and t-shirt or similar attire is beneficial for the assessment due to the nature of the testing performed.

A 40-minute Treatment: The treatment may involve traditional massage techniques or may involve techniques such as assisted stretching, joint mobilization, or other treatment methods where treatment is administered while patients wear clothing, such as shorts and at-shirt or similar attire.

A 5-minute Home Care follow up discussion/demonstration: This may involve demonstration of stretches or strengthening exercises that will supplement the treatment.

All RMTs and therefore all students in a massage therapy program are required to complete an assessment in order to determine the best treatment for you. An assessment involves some questions about your presenting complaint, and any medical conditions which may affect the treatment. An assessment also involves range of motion testing, muscle strength testing, neurological testing and more, in order to determine what structures are affected and how they are affected. This assessment guides the treatment and helps the therapist locate the sources of pain. Please allow the students to complete this as part of your visit. This is an integral part of the learning process. Some assessments may take 10 minutes or some may take up to 20 minutes. Even if several therapists have completed an assessment on you, it is important to allow each student to pertorm their own assessment. With practice, they become proficient at this skill, thus providing you with valuable information and an effective treatment.

The massage treatment you receive is only one part of a treatment plan. The hands-on treatment you receive from a therapist mobilizes joints, softens tissue, resolves trigger points, releases fascial restrictions, and more. However, restoration of function and long-lasting pain reduction happens when manual treatment is complimented with stretching, strengthening, balance exercises, range of motion exercises, and cardiovascular exercise. Your therapist will spend approximately 5 minutes at the end of your treatment explaining what you can do in between visits to our clinic. This is another critical skill that students need to work on, so please allow them to add this to your treatment.

No, these treatments are not subject to reimbursement by your extended health insurance plan. Insurance plans only cover massage therapy treatments from Registered Massage Therapists, not from students.  You also cannot use your treatment receipt toward medical expenses on your income tax.

As of June 11, 2022, face masks are no longer required in any setting in the college. This is in compliance with the regulations of the Ministry of Health and College of Massage Therapists of Ontario. Individuals, (patients, staff, and students) are now free to choose the best option for them; to wear a mask, or not. If you prefer to wear a mask, you are welcome to do so and will be respected for your choice. If you prefer that your therapists wears a mask, they will do so upon request. Some students may continue to wear a mask even if you as a patient do not. The student is to be respected for this choice. We have always complied with infection prevention measures as the set forth by the Ministry of Health, and will continue to do so in regard to proper hygiene and infection prevention practices.

We ask that all students and all patients respect everyone else in the room by turning off or muting electronic devices. Additionally, recording of any type is not permitted in the clinical spaces.

Patient Policy and Procedure Manual

• College of Massage Therapists of Ontario
• Registered Massage Therapists Association of Ontario
• Canadian Massage Therapy Council for Accreditation

According to our privacy policy, your personal health information is stored electronically and confidentially. If you need to update any information we have on file for you or you need access to your clinical file, you can speak with reception or with Penny Postma.

If your experience with us is in somewhat negative or warrants filing of a complaint, please speak with either the clinical supervisor present, or front desk reception staff. Information will be gathered from you and relayed to the owner of the college. Alternately, you can send and email to info@ocht.ca expressing your concerns.

For both Health/Safety and Insurance purposes, patients are prohibited from bringing minors under the age of 16 to clinics. There is an exception if the individual under 16 is the patient, and is receiving treatment. In these instances, a parent or guardian is responsible for monitoring the minor.

Your therapist will provide recommendations based on your needs. Following an intake and assessment, therapists determine a plan. The plan outlines the goals, focus, and techniques  for treatment that day, as well as suggestions for on-going treatment frequency. Frequency can vary from once per week to once per month or more. Therapists determine an appropriate frequency specific to your presenting complaints, their clinical findings, and your goals. Receiving treatments too often is not beneficial. The body needs time to recover and progress in healing through home care stretching, strengthening exercise, and other patent self-care.