In the last six months I have come up against one wall after another when it comes to hiring treatment rooms.
Which makes me wonder: are there more alternative-health practitioners scouring the streets of London for viable treatment rooms than the available facilities can possibly accommodate? Or are those who own these rooms simply taking advantage of freelance therapists who don't own their own facilities?
I had been using rooms in Portland Place. After the New Year break I returned to find that the rate had risen to £10.50 an hour. Okay, I can deal with that. But if you want any 'extras' like a blanket, extra chair or heater/fan in the room, the rate goes up by a further £5!
I then find that I am no longer allowed to use one drawer in an empty chest of drawers to store a spare blanket. There's no cafe for clients to wait with a cup of tea if they arrive early; instead they are left standing in a hallway.
I no longer have access to a jug of free tap water and a glass. Instead I am told to go down to the basement where I can fill a paper cup with some water and take that up four flights of stairs for my client! I am not happy.
Referrals
Happy therapists will rebook, and that means more money for the space. Happy therapists will also recommend a space to other therapists. Well maintained rooms, where the therapist is made to feel valued, will lead to a long-standing relationship of many years.
Talk to other therapists, find out what deals they have been able to reach with venues
I made the decision to find other rooms. I knew I ran the risk of losing those clients who wanted a space in Central London for treatments. That was a risk I had to take.
I found rooms in Highgate, Swains Lane, one minute from Hampstead Heath. Among a warren of treatment rooms predominantly for psychotherapists I was offered a nice, regular slot on a Saturday in their larger room, with mats and cushions. All seemed lovely.
All was lovely for months - until I started to notice how the other therapists operated. Leaving rooms messy, standing outside treatment rooms having loud chats, not leaving a room on time, interrupting sessions early to use a room...
It all started to really impact on my clients and I. When I brought this up with the venue managers they had no solution to offer. There seemed to be no central management to control other therapists in the building.
All this has highlighted how hard it is for therapists to find treatments rooms when working on a freelance basis. It seems that, rather than working with therapists, venues are working to their own agendas. The two don’t often seem to marry.
New therapists should spend some time researching their options. Talk to other therapists, find out what deals they have been able to reach with venues.
Consider the work done by other therapists work in the space. Are they related to your own field?
I had assumed that talking therapies would work just fine. I discovered that the dynamic of these therapists does not fit mine.
It’s also worth really checking out the facilities. A place for clients to wait, a place to make tea and coffee, is important. Who manages the place? Or do therapists just pass through?
I used to think a healing space was about the location and ambience. I’m learning that it is about a lot more than that.
It is also about finding a work space and involves the same skills one would use when renting a place to live. What may seem a trivial nuisance initially can, over time, become a deal breaker.
