Introduction
What is the cost of a therapeutic reflexology session? This is a regular question the therapeutic reflexologist in private practice has to answer to prospective patients, but sometimes also a question with much deeper roots than just merely providing a stipulated fee.
In this article the cost of therapeutic reflexology in South Africa will be discussed by making a few comparisons to similar and dissimilar professions and industries.
Therapeutic Reflexology Prices Compared
There are various Therapeutic Reflexologists in South Africa offering therapeutic reflexology, but many charge different fees. The difference in fees are understandable when considering that there are varieties of treatments that may be offered to a specific patient based on the unique circumstances. Certain therapeutic reflexologists may favour a certain approach of treatment which explains the difference in fees.
Therapeutic Reflexologists in South Africa has to be registered with the Allied Health Professions Council of South Africa (AHPCSA) and hold a Council approved and South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) accredited two-year qualification in order to legally practice. When you are considering to make use of therapeutic reflexology services, always ensure you go to a qualified and registered therapist rather than opting for the one with the lowest fees.
Sometimes therapeutic reflexologists charge different fees based on the area in which they are practicing or whether they work from a home-based practice (within the AHPCSA rules, regulations and requirements for doing so) or from professional offices – this may influence the price being charged for services. Time used is also a consideration, because some therapeutic reflexologists do 30-minute sessions, others 45-minute sessions and others 60-minute sessions; time of the session may influence the fee charged.
It is said that you get what you pay for and when it comes to therapeutic reflexology, it may be something to keep in mind; do not make a decision of whom to entrust with your body based solely on the lowest price. The best therapeutic reflexologist for you, is the one with whom you feel comfortable and relaxed. Use that as your deciding factor in combination with the fact that the person is properly qualified and registered rather than basing your decision solely on price.
The question you should rather ask yourself is: What am I willing to pay for therapeutic reflexology? You have to get value for the money you spend, but that should be placed in perspective.
Therapeutic Reflexology versus Medical Pricing
When looking at the pricing of therapeutic reflexology, it should be compared with fees charged by other healthcare professionals. Why, you may ask? Therapeutic Reflexologists are recognised healthcare providers in South Africa regulated by a statutory council (AHPCSA) and in order to legally practice, they pay annual registration fees that are compared to what other healthcare professionals are paying in order for them to legally practice their professions. It is therefore obvious that the pricing of healthcare professionals should be compared.
In 2018 General Practitioners (medical doctors) charge about R434.40 for a consultation, but depending on who the doctor it, this price is for a 5 to 15-minute consultation. Medical specialist consultation fees range from R550.00 to R2500.00 (if not more, depending on any procedures done) for a 15 to 30-minute consultation. Keep in mind that often when visiting your doctor, this is not the only fee being paid since it is usually topped up with R400.00 or more at the pharmacy for medication plus additional fees for blood tests or other tests and procedures like ECG, injections, minor surgery and so forth.
When visiting a physiotherapist, you usually pay in the region of R490.00 to R560.00 for a 45-minute session. Chiropractors charge about R400.00 for a session of about 15-minute duration and Homeopaths usually charge in the region of R800.00 for a consultation which includes homeopathic remedies.
When looking at psychological treatment, a 55-minute session with a registered counsellor is usually around R490.00 while the same time spent with a psychologist can range from R650.00 to R3000.00.
These mentioned prices may vary depending on the doctor, the tests and the medical speciality, but all the above mentioned prices are actual fees that were charged to my family in the past few months when making use of these services.
Now you should ask yourself how the fee for a therapeutic reflexology session compares to this? You should keep in mind that therapeutic reflexology is not a diagnostic profession and therefore should rather be compared to a therapeutic profession like physiotherapy, but putting healthcare expenses in perspective should give a clear indication of where therapeutic reflexology is on the scale of fees.
Therapeutic Reflexology versus Beauty Industry Pricing
A fascinating matter is always when comparing therapeutic reflexology with reflexology (or foot massage) in the beauty industry. The beauty industry is not regulated by a statutory council and may therefore charge any fee and even advertise it while healthcare professionals are legally restricted from doing so.
Beauty therapists offer so-called reflexology (which is more of a foot massage than actual reflexology, but anyone that has received this before would know) at a very low fee of R130.00 which is usually for about 30 minutes. On the other end of that spectrum is a spa offering the same treatment for anything from R550.00 to R850.00 and people pay this without hesitation.
What you should ask when comparing this, is where therapeutic reflexology fees are located on this scale. When looking at the lower end of the scale, it is obvious that therapeutic reflexology will cost more than R130.00 as it is not merely a foot massage, but a therapeutic profession offering specific treatment within statutory council rules and regulations in the healthcare industry. If you are offered a therapeutic reflexology session at only R130.00, you should ask yourself why a registered healthcare professional would be willing to offer you a quality treatment at such a low fee?
On the other side of this spectrum is the spa where a relaxing treatment is offered at very high prices. You may think it is a therapeutic treatment and not just a relaxing treatment, but is it really? If it was a therapeutic treatment, should that not be performed by a qualified and registered therapist formally regulated by a statutory healthcare council like all other healthcare professionals and therapists are when offering therapeutic treatments in this country? You should be aware of the fact that the word “therapeutic” preceding reflexologist, massage therapist or aromatherapist is only allowed to be used by qualified and registered therapists. They should be registered with the AHPCSA, not any other organisation, because not being registered by this specific statutory council means the person is not allowed to practice in South Africa. No beauty therapist is thus allowed to say that they offer therapeutic reflexology, because it is illegal to do so. This alone should put things in perspective; the services received at a spa is by nature supposed to be relaxing and not therapeutic.
Is it wrong to use the services at a spa? Of course not, spa’s offer great relaxation services and in our stressful lifestyles it may even be beneficial in reducing your stress. What you should consider, though, is the very high fees charged by the spa compared to the lower fee charged by a therapeutic reflexologist.
Why should you consider it, you may ask? Well, it will be good to understand why you are willing to pay very high fees for a relaxing treatment in a spa without hesitation, but you are hesitant to pay less for a therapeutic treatment at a qualified, registered and regulated therapeutic reflexologist. Understanding a question like this, usually offers you valuable insight into your own mindset and what you see as important or not. Do you value relaxation more than therapy? Interesting question, especially when placing it next to other therapies like physiotherapy, psychotherapy and so forth.
This can be taken a step further when you consider how much you are willing to pay to have your hair done; is R850.00 to R3500.00 not the going rate to pay the hairdresser to make your hair look beautiful? If you are willing to spend this amount on looking beautiful, how much are you willing to pay to feel good and live with a feeling of wellbeing?
With this in mind, you should consider the fact that a session with a therapeutic reflexologist is not only therapeutic, but it also includes deep relaxation and enhanced wellbeing. This may place the fee charged by a therapeutic reflexologist in perspective. You get a quality therapeutic reflexology treatment at a good fee. The added benefit of making use of a registered therapist is that you may claim back from your medical scheme (if your scheme and option allow for it).
Medical Aid Rates
Therapeutic Reflexologists are healthcare professionals registered and regulated by the AHPCSA and may therefore also apply for a practice number after which invoices may be generated that can be used by patients to claim from their medical schemes.
Medical aid rates for therapeutic reflexology includes various codes that can be used for consultations, foot reflexology, hand reflexology, facial reflexology, auricular reflexology, body reflexology and some additional services. Each of these codes are allocated a medical scheme rate for use in various time slots ranging from 5-minutes to 60-minutes.
When a therapeutic reflexologist state that medical aid rates are charged, it therefore means that the charged fee is dependent on the types of services and duration of such services in order to determine the total fee. This is a similar system as used by physiotherapists so if you ever visited a physiotherapist you should be familiar with this type of billing used by therapeutic reflexologists.
Christo Scheepers (Therapeutic Reflexologist) Fees
Christo Scheepers is a registered therapeutic reflexologist trained through the prestigious International Academy of Reflexology and Meridian Therapy (IARAMT), registered with the AHPCSA and have a valid practice number making invoicing for medical aid reimbursements possible.
He charges medical aid rates to always ensure that patients pay the going rate for therapeutic reflexology as prescribed by medical schemes and work on Discovery health rates. Working on medical aid rates mean that patients do not get overcharged, but instead pay a reasonable rate for a good quality treatment.
Christo Scheepers uses the Vacuflex Concepts electronic reflexology device and the treatments offered by him includes manual reflexology and Vacuflex electronic reflexology. This approach ensures that patients receive the best of both worlds; ancient manual therapeutic reflexology in combination with contemporary electronic therapeutic reflexology. By following this approach, patients receive added value for the fee.
A Christo Scheepers Therapeutic Reflexology session of 60-minute duration is charged for on medical aid rates at R400.00.
Let us get Christo Scheepers to personally answer a couple of questions about the fees he charges:
- You charge R400.00 for a 60-minute session; what does that include? That is medical aid rates and include manual therapeutic reflexology as well as Vacuflex electronic therapeutic reflexology.
- There are therapeutic reflexologists charging more than you, why do you only charge this amount? Yes, there are some therapeutic reflexologists charging more, but I have decided to work on medical aid rates as I believe it is a fair rate for an excellent service.
- There are therapeutic reflexologists charging less than you, why do you not reduce your rate? I’m sure there are therapeutic reflexologists working for less, but as said, I charge medical aid rates as I see it as a fair price for an excellent service. Keep in mind that the therapeutic reflexology sessions offered by me includes both manual reflexology and Vacuflex electronic reflexology; few therapeutic reflexologists uses the Vacuflex Concepts. The Vacuflex electronic reflexology sessions bring modern-day reflexology to ancient manual reflexology and offers added value. I also work in professional office space offering you comfort, quality of service and professionalism. Ultimately it is not about what I charge in comparison to other therapeutic reflexologists, it is about which therapeutic reflexologist you feel comfortable with and then to make use of his or her services.
- Do you not feel threated by other therapeutic reflexologists? No, definitely not. We are all qualified, registered and regulated and offer good quality services. I offer good quality therapeutic reflexology services at a reasonable rate based on my expertise and background experience and if you do not feel 100% comfortable with me, I’ll gladly refer you to a colleague with whom you may feel more at ease. It is about the patient receiving the best possible treatment in the best possible environment and from the best possible therapist for him/her.
- What if I cannot afford to pay the fee? I offer debit and credit card payment facilities making it possible for you to fund sessions with your bank card. Formal invoices are also generated which you may use for medical aid reimbursement and annual income tax submission purposes.
The Cost of not receiving Therapeutic Reflexology
The cost of therapeutic reflexology is very reasonable and the question you should ask yourself is not what a therapeutic reflexology session will cost you, but rather what it will cost you not to receive a therapeutic reflexology session.
The obvious answer is, by not receiving a therapeutic reflexology session, you are saving a portion of what you will spend on your hair at the hair salon, a portion of what you will spend on other medical treatments once you become ill and a portion of what it may cost you to fill up your vehicle with fuel or indulge on take-away foods.
The more in-depth answer lies in the benefits of therapeutic reflexology. The modality of therapeutic reflexology is known for its health benefits and may be classified as preventative healthcare. It is ideal to help you reduce stress and relax while stimulating the nerve endings of the body to improve circulation and rebalance the body holistically. Overall, therapeutic reflexology increases wellbeing by giving the body the opportunity to heal itself or at least rebalance itself.
We live in a society where numerous toxins are consumed and inhaled daily at extremely high stress levels and therapeutic reflexology is an ideal modality to help you rid the body of unnecessary toxins and stress. By keeping your body in the optimum state of health, you prevent serious illness to get a hold of you or at the very least prolong your health to prevent an early onset of such illness conditions.
When weighing up the cost of therapeutic reflexology and the benefit of wellbeing with the cost of not receiving therapeutic reflexology and the resulting cost of medical expenses in an attempt to regain your health, it becomes obvious that the cost of therapeutic reflexology treatment is well worth it, but that is a discussion for another article.
Conclusion
Therapeutic Reflexology is a financially inexpensive therapy, but a therapy with amazing benefits which far outweigh the cost of the sessions or even the cost of not receiving it. Therapeutic Reflexology is a great preventative healthcare modality.
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Christo A. Scheepers: Therapeutic Reflexologist
Dip.T.R.(Cum Laude)[IARAMT]
AHPCSA: A11945
Pr. No.: 1080000737453
Tel. 072-800 7243