Innovation Meets Revolution: Not Your Average Massage

Lisa LaMaitre is the Founder and Principal Practitioner of Therapy Masters, a remedial massage practice that has been operating in the Canberra region for almost 23 years. Lisa is currently part of the our ‘Idea to Impact’ program after being selected for one of the recent scholarships offered in partnership with the ACT government.

“I’m excited to be part of the Idea to Impact program,” Lisa explains. “It’s the perfect opportunity to take my idea of a new holistic treatment modality through a validation process. I have been sitting on my idea for several years, waiting for the perfect time to develop and launch it. Given the challenges of 2020 – it is finally time to bring all my training and experience together. The new modality will include aspects of neuroscience and psychology, that I studied at the Australian National University, the massage therapy and applied healthcare that I learned at the Canberra Institute of Technology, my many years of working closely with people and their health concerns, and lastly my personal journey through post-traumatic stress and recovery.”

“We all know that our bodies automatically switch on to deal with any stress we encounter. What our bodies do not do – is automatically switch off. It can take hours, days or even weeks to process the daily stress that we face. Then when we include additional impacts like bushfire, severe smoke, hailstorms and a pandemic – our body systems quickly select overdrive to deal with ALL the stressors. As most of us know – living with long term stress negatively impacts our mental and physical well-being. Long term stress can lead to chronic health conditions and reduced life expectancy. My goal is to develop a holistic treatment that teaches people how to develop and access their own ‘off switch’. The Idea to Impact program is giving me the focus to test my assumptions and uncover my ideal target audience.”

“I love the diversity of work that is available as a Massage Practitioner. Massage Therapy is about more than rubbing an ache or sore muscle. It’s about providing valuable healthcare advice and focused treatment. Massage provides a range of benefits that positively impact on the mental, emotional and physical well-being of our clients. Even after two decades in the Industry I’m still enthusiastic about the work that I do and the opportunities that are available for my work and the Industry as a whole.”

Lisa’s career long dedication to the Australian Massage Industry has recently been recognised as a Finalist in the ‘Revolutionary’ category of the 2020 Altitude Awards. The ‘Revolutionary’ category is for individuals with over 20 years of business or industry experience. The Finalists in this category have been selected due to being ground breakers throughout their career, as well as a supporter and mentor in their industry. The winners of the 16 categories in 2020 Altitude Awards will be announced at a Gala Ball set for November 7 at the LCC Events Centre in Sydney. The 2020 Altitude Awards are sponsored by The Commonwealth Bank, Western Sydney Business Centre and Judge Accountants.

We spoke to Lisa in 2018 when she was a participant for FatigueHack about innovation and what drives her hackathon team to make a difference, read more on our blog.