Therapeutic Living, LLC

Yes, we are still wearing and requiring masks.

Today's St. Clair County COVID-19 Update:
New today PLUS Accumulative totals:
* 99 NEW COVID Positive cases; total of 78,566 positive cases
* 1 NEW deaths reported; total of 703 deaths reported
* 68.4% of SCC residents age 5+ are fully vaccinated

7-day average Case Rate per 100,000 population is 243.76

Other resources:
Your COVID-19 Tool Kit: https://loom.ly/qi7HQAY
CDC COVID Data Tracker: https://loom.ly/8qCyMoA

Another friendly reminder that our price increase is effective 7/1/2022 as previously posted.

To those of you who couldn't help but complain to our therapists about it, you may as well have looked them right in the eyes and said, "You don't deserve to get paid more than you got paid 10 years ago. You're not worth it to me." Ridiculous.

Friendly reminder: Our price increase is effective 7/1/2022 as previously posted.

We have kept our rates the same since our launch in Q4 of 2011, cutting costs and increasing efficiencies in every way possible for well over 10 years in order to provide the best possible value for our clients. But now the time has come to increase our rates while still providing the best value of any massage clinic in our service area.

Effective 7/1/2022, we will charge $80 for a 60-minute session, $110 for a 90-minute session, and $140 for a 120-minute session. Each of these is comprised of a $20 non-refundable Session Fee plus $1 per minute of therapy. We will reserve the right to charge the $20 non-refundable Session Fee at the time of booking. No-shows will forfeit the Session Fee in its entirety as will any changes/cancellations with less than 24 hours' notice. Changes/cancellations with 24 or more hours' notice will result in the session fee being held on-account or applied to the purchase of a gift card for future use.

Our rates will still be much lower than most of the clinics in the area, so we are confident that we will continue to be the best value available.

Please share!

We presently have four massage therapists who are taking all the sessions they possibly can, yet we're turning away at least 30 sessions each week due to lack of therapist availability.

If you know any good, experienced, licensed massage therapists who are looking for immediate work, please have them message us here on Facebook.

Our therapists set their own work availability schedules and make between $30-40 per hour (commissions, bonuses, tips), taking home cash (100% of their tips) every time they work. They are W-2 employees which means they have benefits such as unemployment insurance, workers compensation insurance, and of course we pay half of their Medicare and Social Security. We also pay hourly for prep and clean up before/between/after sessions rather than expecting commissions to cover that time (most other places don't do this). We provide all supplies, equipment, etc. so our therapists simply have to show up and do their best work while we handle the rest.

We are ready to double the size of our clinic facility (same location, just more space) but can't/won't until we have more help.

Thanks for getting the word out.

We used to receive several resumes each month even though we weren't hiring. Now that we're hiring, we can't buy a resume from an experienced LMT. We have immediate work, easily 15-20 sessions per week (20-25 session hours at $30-40/hour). If you know a great massage therapist who wants/needs more work, please send them our way. We honestly don't care if they work at other clinics, so long as they are professional about it. :)

Therapeutic Living, LLC updated their information in their About section.

Therapeutic Living, LLC updated their information in their About section.

LoL

Just...don't

Fine dining establishments take reservations so seriously that they participate in a shared list of persona non gratas (unwelcome people). The number one way to get on their list is to set a reservation, which is literally a personal commitment, then break that commitment without so much as calling. Do that to a participating establishment, and now thousands of others won't make a reservation for you without a substantial reservation fee, if at all.

It's only a matter of time before all appointment/reservation based industries do the same, and that includes massage therapy.

When you set an appointment with us, you are making a commitment. You are essentially purchasing time that we have allocated to you. Our therapists literally plan their lives around their appointments, getting sitters, meals and transportation allocated, often increasing their personal expenses just so they can keep their revenue-generating commitments to you. If you utterly fail to keep your commitment to them by simply not showing up, exacerbated by neither initiating nor responding to our communications, please know that there's a special place in hell for you. You know who you are... :)

Also, know that we are actively working on not only establishing a shared list of people who are unwelcome, but also considering requiring prepayment from new clients. We'd sell you prepaid admission to your own personal customized therapeutic massage session, 100% nonrefundable yet can be rescheduled or transferred to another client within 24-48 hours of your session, but is completely forfeited if within 24 hours of your session. You'd either communicate and show up, or you'd lose money. It's that simple. As they say, "Put your money where your mouth is." We do, and so should you.

Just a thought, but a dead serious one. We have the technology. :)

This is a great way to keep prices down and values up, and quite frankly, we owe this to the clients who always show up. We should not have to raise our rates just to survive the abuse and added expense by persona non gratas. Prove to us that you're as serious about your commitments as we are about ours, and we would gladly waive the pre-payment requirement.

Since partially re-opening on 8/1/2020, we've performed 1,800 massage sessions while following all CDC and IDPH guidelines. Why would we stop following those guidelines now, especially with our Missouri neighbors seeing nearly 1,000 new cases a day? 🤔 (source: https://www.mayoclinic.org/coronavirus-covid-19/map)

So YES, we're still wearing masks and requiring clients to wear them even though all of our therapists are fully vaccinated. Why? Easy: 1) we spend at least an hour and as much as 2.5 hours in direct physical contact with our clients, 2) there is limited ventilation short of opening doors and windows which is not conducive to privacy or therapy, and 3) we are exposed to as many as 100 massage clients per week under these conditions. Therefore, we are following CDC and IDPH guidelines for healthcare environments.

And NO, we're not attempting to check vaccination status of our clients. Why? Easy: 1) it's none of our business, 2) it's difficult to verify, and 3) vaccinated people can still get infected and spread the virus to unvaccinated people. While we do ask a few medical-related questions during client intake, it's only those needed to identify conditions that are contraindicated for massage (i.e. massage might make them worse).

Bottom line: Short of keeping our doors closed, we're doing everything we can to protect our community while providing safe, quality service at a great price (and we've not increased our rates in at least 10 years). Please don't ask us to deviate from scientific and common sense guidelines. 🙂

Have a safe and relaxing holiday weekend!

It's great to see Illinois move into Phase 5! But the fact remains that there are still guidelines in place that should be followed, and we will continue to follow them as part of our commitment to "Do no harm."

All of our therapists are fully vaccinated, but masks will continue to be worn by both staff and clients until CDC and/or IDPH guidelines state that those in prolonged and direct contact (as is the case in a massage setting) can safely go without them.

We appreciate your continued patience and support! ❤

The CDC recently announced that individuals fully-vaccinated against CoViD-19 are considered safe to go without masks and without social distancing in most scenarios. 👍

While this is a great sign that we're moving forward, these are merely guidelines for civil authority to consider when implementing rules as granted by administrative statutes. Therefore, until state and local authorities say otherwise, we will continue to follow their rules. Specifically, all staff members will continue to wear masks at all times while in the clinic (even though all of our therapists have been fully vaccinated), and all clients will continue to wear masks at all times while in the clinic (although they can pull their noses out while they are face-down during massage sessions). If you wish to debate this, please do so with local and state authorities, not with our staff or management. 😁

If you have been fully vaccinated and are inclined to inform us (we won't ask), that's great, but don't do so expecting us to dismiss our masks or yours at this juncture.

Our promise is and will always be to "Do no harm" which means we'll always put your safety first by following the instructions given by those in authority to use the feedback from experts to determine the safest courses of action. Whether or not you or we voted for or otherwise like those in authority is irrelevant, as is related discussion while in our clinic. After all, We're about helping people feel better through therapeutic massage, not through political discussion or debate. 😎

See you soon! ❤

Therapeutic Living, LLC now takes appointments on their Page.

Therapeutic Living, LLC now takes appointments on their Page.

With the latest updates in CoViD-19 mitigations this week, the Illinois Department of Public Health is no longer stating that massage therapy should be used "as deemed necessary by a medical provider." However, masks are still required, and we are still operating with limited capacity and performing deep cleanings between every session. We will continue to do our part to help slow the spread of CoViD-19. Please be safe and stay well. See you soon! :) ❤

Disinfect Your Entire Room

Several of you have asked, so we figured we should just post it here...

Using this product is just one of the steps we take to sanitize/disinfect our treatment rooms between sessions as well as our entire clinic at the end of each day. It's one of the many things we do to keep our clinic from turning into a proverbial petri dish, because we're committed to keeping our our clients as safe as possible during this pandemic.

Please consult your medical provider to see if therapeutic massage is a necessary enough part of your personal care for you to take the risks of being out and about. Just like theirs, our first priority is to Do No Harm. If you and/or your QuarenTeam are high risk, please stay home and be well.

Disinfect Your Entire Room Limited Availability.

How's everyone holdin' up out there?

Fa la la la laaahhh. sigh
And wash your hands. 😎
Stay safe!

Restore Illinois Mitigation plan

As of 11/20/2020, our region will be rolled-back to Tier 3 Resurgence Mitigations. We are already operating well within the previously-established Tier 3 guidelines. However, the latest version added language indicating that therapeutic massage should be performed, "as deemed necessary by a medical provider."

We know that many of our valued clients were referred to us by their primary care physicians, physical therapists, occupational therapists, chiropractors, and/or mental-health practitioners. However, we have no reasonable means to authenticate or otherwise prove that our therapeutic massage services have been officially "prescribed" or otherwise "deemed necessary by a medical provider." Until there is clarification on this point, the onus falls on our clients.

It is possible that the new language intends for all massage therapy services provided outside of medical clinics (i.e. as prescribed by and under the direct supervision of physicians) to be temporarily paused. If and when that guidance becomes clear, we will suspend our operations accordingly. But until then, we ask that that our clients please confer with their medical providers to see if they deem our services to be necessary for their personal care prior to requesting appointments. ❤️

Restore Illinois Mitigation plan With a new wave of COVID-19 surging across the state of Illinois and the nation, the state is committed to listening to public health experts and following the science to keep people safe. Tier 3 builds on the Resurgence Mitigation Plan first released in July to suppress the spread of the virus and....

We nuke our treatment rooms into orbit between sessions with powerful UV-C lamps. Not only does 254nm ultraviolet light kill viruses and bacteria, but it also creates ozone which is a powerful natural disinfectant (oxidizer). Our staff wears masks at all times, and we have touchless sanitizer stations located both outside and inside of our clinic.

PUMPKIN SPICE MASSAGE! Ew... Just kidding. 😁 But we do have a pretty good variety of aromatherapy scents available, complimentary with any massage session. Are you ready to feel better? 😎❤️

WE'RE BACK! :) As of 8/1/2020 we have partially re-opened. We are seeing existing clients only until 8/15/2020 after which we may begin taking new clients again. We are not providing skin care services at this time but hope to be able to do so very soon.

In accordance with CDC and ILDPH guidelines, and for the safety of our clients and staff, face coverings must be worn at all times (no exceptions, please). A standard CoViD-19 questionnaire/screening will be completed before each session including but not limited to body temperature checks (touchless thermometer). All clients will be required to provide a phone number and physical home address to be used in the event of contact-tracing necessity.

No-shows and cancellations within 48 hours of appointment time may incur a $25 booking fee. New clients may be asked to pay this booking fee in advance then have it applied to their session charges at the time of service.

We are staggering appointments so that clients do not share time in our lobby, and also to give our staff adequate time to perform sanitizing procedures between sessions, including but not limited to UV-C and Ozone applications in our treatment rooms.

We are actively reaching out to existing clients here on Facebook as well as via phone, but if you have not heard from us, please feel free to send us a private message here on Facebook.

Therapist availability is limited, but we'll get you in just as soon as we possibly can. Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding while we work to get our groove back. 😎

We love and miss all of you! Please stay safe and be well. ❤️

GREAT NEWS! Our medical-grade sanitizing equipment shipped and should be in our possession shortly. We will train on new protocols after which we can begin booking again, but there will be necessary changes for your safety and ours, including but not limited to the following:

- Clients will wear face coverings (masks) at all times. No exceptions, so please don't ask, and it's not up for discussion here on our page or anywhere else. Clients are encouraged to bring their own, but we will have disposable masks on-hand while supplies are available. If you have a medical condition that makes it impossible for you to wear a mask for 60-120 minutes, we are unfortunately unable to provide services to you at this time.

- Clients will use sanitizer stations to clean hands upon arrival.

- Clients will not be able to wait in our lobby for any period of time but will be taken directly into a treatment room at or a few minutes before their appointment time.

- Clients will complete and sign a new intake form either physically or electronically. Past forms will be discarded. New forms will require a valid/active email address and/or cell phone number for text/SMS notifications.

- Clients will complete and sign a CoViD-19 liability waiver for each visit.

- Clients will complete and sign a CoViD-19 questionnaire for each visit, agreeing that no fever reducing medications have been ingested within the past six hours, and temperatures will be taken via touch-less thermometers upon arrival. If temperature is 100.4°F/38°C or higher, session will be cancelled. If any other typical CoViD-19 symptoms are present per current CDC and/or state/local guidelines, session will be cancelled. Clients will agree to let us know if they have developed symptoms or otherwise tested positive within 72 hours of being in our facility.

- Any no-shows or cancellations within 48 hours of appointment time will be subject to a $25 non-refundable fee. The only exceptions will be clients who have developed CoViD-19 symptoms, clients who have tested positive, or clients who must quarantine because they came into direct contact with someone who was positive during that time. New clients may be asked to pay this $25 fee in advance, and it will be applied to the cost of their session when completed.

Depending upon our volume of appointments, it is very likely that we will be operating at a loss for many months to come, so we will be understandably intolerant of no-shows, late cancellations, and on-site session terminations due to symptoms or mask violations.

It is not our intention to raise our rates or include mandatory gratuities at this time. However, we absolutely intend to enforce the $25 fees for no-shows, late arrivals, and cancellations within 48 hours of appointment time.

It is fully our intention to process our backlog of existing clients before re-opening to the general public. Feel free to reach out to us, but we will also be reaching out to you in PMs, texts, emails, and phone calls.

Mutual trust and respect are the foundations of our relationships with our clients. Where it is lacking, relationships will be terminated. We owe this much to the clients who value us as much as we value them.

We miss all of you and are anxious to start booking appointments again as safely as possible very soon. Please stay safe and be well! ❤️

Good news! As of this afternoon, the 30-minute session limitation has been removed from the official Phase 3 Guidlines by IL DCEO. Therefore, once we have received our PPE and sanitizing equipment/supplies as well as completed training on new protocols, we'll be able to set a re-opening date and begin booking massages and skin care. We unfortunately do not know when all of our equipment and supplies will arrive since much of it has already been on order for a few weeks. We'll keep you posted here. Thanks for your continued understanding and support! ❤️

If you're thinking about calling us to point out that other clinics in the area are not following the Phase 3 Guidelines (requiring masks for all, limiting sessions to 30 minutes or less, etc.) and suggesting that we ignore the guidelines, too, you're wasting your time. We're truly sorry that your back, neck, and shoulders hurt. We really do want to help! But we're putting the public health, your health, and our health first. Always! As badly as we want and need a paycheck, our oath and promise comes first: Do No Harm. When it's safe(r), we'll re-open. Thank you for your continued patience and understanding. Please stay safe and be well. Rational concern is not fear.

Therapeutic Living, LLC updated their business hours.

Therapeutic Living, LLC updated their business hours.

dceocovid19resources.com

At least they changed the wording from "massage parlors" to "massage therapy clinics" due to all of the complaints that were filed by professionals... 🙄
https://dceocovid19resources.com/assets/Restore-Illinois/businessguidelines3/personalcare.pdf

dceocovid19resources.com

We do not feel that Illinois Phase 3 Personal Care Service Guidelines are conducive to effective therapeutic massage or skin care treatments.

Our oath and promise is to Do No Harm.

Safety is our top priority. So, we'll start booking appointments again when it is clearly safe to do so. We're following the science and the consensus of the experts (i.e. epidemiologists, immunologists, etc.) every day on a local and regional level.

It will take several weeks for us to receive appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), special cleaning/sanitizing equipment, and to learn new protocols. There are other clinics who will open the very first day it's legal to do so, and that's certainly their prerogative. But we will not be among the first.

As disappointing as this may be to some of you, we hope you all can understand that we are absolutely putting your interests first. Always! We love and miss all of you and will see you soon. ❤️

As a non-essential business, we are still closed in accordance with executive order by civil authority. We miss all of you and look forward to serving you again when it is safe to do so.

Personal care is important to all of us, but massage should be one of the very last businesses to open, and here's why:

Unlike most hair salons, chiropractic clinics, and the like, massage therapy requires prolonged (60-120 minutes) and direct physical contact that is typically performed in a very limited space with relatively limited ventilation (doors and windows closed for privacy and to reduce outside noise). In a sense, the typical massage therapy environment is the perfect incubator for the spread of any airborne contagion.

If we were permitted to open now, or any time before the 6-foot social distancing guidelines have been lifted by the CDC, we would have to use very aggressive personal protective equipment (PPE) including but not limited to N95 respirators (masks), face shields, gloves, and even gowns, most of which would have to be discarded after each session. All clients would be required to wear masks and thoroughly sanitize hands upon entry.

In addition, we would have to use even more aggressive sanitation procedures throughout all areas of our clinic, especially in the massage/treatment suites. We would have to use a regimen of disinfectant and sanitation chemicals (Lysol, isopropyl alcohol, etc.) as well as powerful UV-C lamps and even ozone generators between sessions. We would also need disposable protective covers for our treatment tables. All of these are both expensive as well as not very conducive to a relaxing environment, but they would be necessary to protect our staff and especially you, our valued clients.

Without the measures described above, we would be putting everyone involved as well as their loved ones at home into harm's way, and our first promise as dedicated healers is to Do No Harm.

We look forward to seeing you when it's legal, and more importantly, when it's safe. ❤️

Please consider sharing in order to promote understanding and awareness.

Per order of civil authority, we will not be offering any services through April 30th, 2020. However, we will still be answering phones, returning calls, responding to texts, and responding to messages here on Facebook in order to set appointments for dates after April 30th. We will also be processing gift card purchases from orders placed securely via our web site, and we will provide curbside delivery of skin care products for existing skin care clients. If you are still working and can afford to purchase a gift card for your future sessions, we will sincerely appreciate the revenues. Thank you, stay home, be safe, and be well. We'll get through this, together! ❤️

Sorry, But You Shouldn't Go To Your Friend's House While Social Distancing

No, sorry, but we will not come to your home to give you a massage now that we're closed until 4/7/2020, and here's why (good read, please share). Stay safe and be well, friends.

Sorry, But You Shouldn't Go To Your Friend's House While Social Distancing Social distancing during COVID-19 means you Facetime instead of heading over to your friend's house to hang. We don't want to spread this.

Per order of civil authority, we will not be offering any services through April 7th, 2020. However, we will still be answering phones, returning calls, responding to texts, and responding to messages here on Facebook in order to set appointments for dates after April 7th. We will also be processing gift card purchases from orders placed securely via our web site. If you are still working and can afford to purchase a gift card for your future sessions, we will sincerely appreciate the revenues. Thank you, stay home, be safe, and be well. We'll get through this, together! ❤️

Of course it's safe, Karen, we have essential oils! Would you like to talk to a manger?!? 🙄😉

OK, but seriously... While we do include complimentary aromatherapy (essential oils) with every session, we also practice standard clinical protocols to keep our therapeutic environment sanitary and clear of pathogens.

Karen, you're still welcome here, and yes, you can talk to a manager. But do it quietly, because people are trying to relax. 😎

SAFETY TIP: Before you book your next massage anywhere, find out how much time the clinic plans between sessions so that staff can properly clean and sanitize the rooms and therapists can properly clean themselves up and have time to recover.

If it's 15 minutes or less, you might want to consider going somewhere else, not only because they may not have spent enough time performing necessary cleaning and sanitizing procedures, but also because their therapists are likely worn out (or using a "guarded" style to protect themselves, thereby limiting the amount of needed therapy provided). Plus, there's a good chance you're getting far less time than what you paid for (e.g. a "one hour massage" ends up being a mere 45 minutes of hands-on therapy).

THIS is why we book our sessions 30 minutes apart with very few exceptions. Our rooms stay sanitary, our therapists stay fresh, and our clients who arrive on-time get the amount of time for which they paid.

Massage.
Therapy.
Yeah...therapy.
That's what we do.
You're welcome. :)

We are now offering massage therapy via Skype and Facetime! 😀 Just kidding 😉, but seriously, we're still sanitizing everything as we have always done, following clinical best practices and health protocols.

Massage therapy has been proven to help your immune system by increasing your lymphocyte count (notice we didn't say "boost" because a "boosted" or over-active immune system is not a good thing at all). 😎

Massages Boost the Immune System

Yep. See you soon.

Massages Boost the Immune System Getting a massage might boost your immune system