How does the sliding scale work?

I see bodywork as one component of healthcare among many, rather than a luxury. I wish for each person to be able to access the personalized support they need and desire, beyond what has been prioritized within the public healthcare system. Sliding scale pricing is one way I can help lower barriers to access.  Your circumstances are unique and the following descriptions are not meant to  be prescriptive but rather to offer some guidelines to consider. Your placement on the scale is self-determined and I will never ask you for proof of income.

The average cost of a 60 minute massage in Montreal, 2023 is $107 (tax included). Keep in mind that provincial, federal and income taxes are deducted from the amount paid and that each hour of bodywork includes many additional hours of training and research, cleaning and laundry, marketing and social media management, rent, association and clinic software fees, emails to clients, charting and more!
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Standard Sliding Scale Rates : $70-$100

Please consider the top of the scale if some of the following are true for you: You have access to full or partial insurance coverage for massage therapy, are comfortably able to cover your expenses every month with some extra left over, receive regular financial support from a partner/family, own property or choose to rent property that exceeds your basic housing needs.
Please consider the lower range of the scale if some of the following are true for you: You do not have access to insurance coverage for massage therapy, have limited expendable income, are unemployed or have unstable employment, have little or no access to savings or financial support from family, have higher debt that requires some sacrifices.

Community Healing Day, Sliding Scale Donation : $10-50

This is a monthly collective offering of a variety of bodywork modalities at a low sliding scale, prioritizing people with very low income and those who identify as migrants, non-status, Indigenous, single parents, racialized, queer and trans and/or living with disability(ies)/chronic illness(es). I regularly participate as a practitioner – you can request me when you book or work with another fabulous community-oriented bodyworker. Community Healing Days take place at Tiger Lotus Studio in the Plateau. Learn more and book your spot here.

Low-income QTBIPOC Sliding Scale: $0-60

I currently set aside at least 2 sessions per month for gender/sexuality-subversive Black and/or Indigenous people and People of Colour (ex: 2-Spirit, queer, trans, intersex, etc) when my sliding scale rates are not accessible. As a white settler who benefits from the impacts of colonization and white supremacy, this is one small way I can redistribute resources within community. If you have some access to finances  for bodywork and would prefer to work with a racialized pracitioner, I am happy to recommend local BIPOC bodyworkers who offer sliding scale rates.
Solidarity appointments are booked through the regular online system (75 minute first appointments, 60 minute follow-up appointments). Please enter the word “solidarity” into the “questions/comments” box at the last stage of the booking process.  


Healing for Iran Sliding Scale: $0-60

I am offering a deeper sliding scale in solidarity and care for Iranian/Persian people affected by the ongoing violence and injustice in Iran following the state murder of Mahsa Amini. All Iranian/Persian people in search of compassionate and rejuvenating care are welcome to book using this sliding scale. 
Healing for Iran solidarity appointments are booked through the regular online system (75 minute first appointments, 60 minute follow-up appointments). Please enter the phrase “healing for Iran” into the “questions/comments” box at the last stage of the booking process.  

Tips
Tips in addition to my posted rates are never expected. However if you have abundant financial access and would like to support an independent queer bodyworker, I gratefully accept payment above the top of my scale. This act of solidarity helps support my ability to offer more of my work to community freely or at lower cost.

Fundraisers
I welcome invitations to donate massage gift certificates to fundraisers related to social justice. I particularly enjoy opportunities to support projects centered on racial, migrant, housing, food, disability and healing justice, sex worker and drug-user solidarity, decolonization, community alternatives to prisons/policing, inclusive sex education and the wellbeing of gender and sexually subversive adults and youth.

Standard sliding scale descriptions partially inspired by Eli Conley, Catalpa Studio and  Hadassah Damien’s sliding scale models