# What types would you expect massage therapists to be?



## IniMiney (Jan 9, 2013)

And why?


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## NTlazerman (Nov 28, 2014)

ESFJs or ESFPs

Extroverted, check. Sensor, check. Feeler, check. 

A problem with this is though that ESFJs lack Se, but I would still say they would enjoy this kind of a job. I don't really think thinkers would like a job as humanitarian as this. Extroversion is also good with this kind of work, obviously. Sensors because they are more aware of physical stuff.


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## XZ9 (Nov 16, 2013)

Istj


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## Dangerose (Sep 30, 2014)

I would think XNFP types, maybe ISFPs as well.
(As a possibly irrelevant note, massages make me extremely uncomfortable personally. Are we lovers? No? Then you should not be doing rhythmic touchy things to my naked body. And the 'soothing' voice they use I find creepy and somewhat infuriating. Also, when people tell me to relax, it just makes me kinda want to punch them. That's probably just me though...)


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## notinuseanymore (Sep 21, 2013)

I'd agree with Oswin. Either ISFP or INFP. I think Introvert because even though it deals with people, it deals with them on a very personal one-to-one level and most of the time its a rather peaceful non-talking job. ISFPs would be great at such a sensual, calm occupation, and INFPs (the healers) would be good at it on a more spiritual level.


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## LadyO.W.BernieBro (Sep 4, 2010)

Depends on the background they come from, many having former careers in healthcare, especially nursing. 

These types may be very likely be ESFJ or ISFJ and some of them don't really seem to embrace the alternative/holistic side of it and act more as a physical therapist would.

Truly, l think most people do expect ESxP as the 'ideal', in practice, many different people are in the field for different reasons. l know a male LMT who was both a science teacher and an engineer before getting into it. 
You're going to see some ENFJs, for sure, who's tertiary Se can rival a dominant Se type in that setting. Some NF sprinkling otherwise but l can see ISFP being a slightly more common type for it.


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## EccentricSiren (Sep 3, 2013)

I would imagine them to be SF types. An S would be more aware of the other person's body than an N would be and more focused on what sorts of sensations they were providing. (However, I could see an NFJ being a massage therapist, because of Fe) Massage is also a very nurturing profession, so it would probably attract more Fs than Ts.
I'm an INFP, and I sometimes think it would be an interesting career, since I could provide a service for someone and make them feel good without actually having to talk to them, but when I imagine learning massage, the primary motivation is to use it on my boyfriend if I ever have one again rather than to use it on a stranger (but giving a stranger a massage doesn't seem weird to me)


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## pivot_turn (Dec 10, 2014)

I thought S types at first too, maybe SP, but I think all types can be good at it, but maybe some more common than others. Everyone just has their different way to approach it. Many are saying that SF might be likely, so I'll put in a case for possible T. It just sounded a bit like a T-ish approach as a massage therapist told my friend, that she's interesting to give massage to, because her back muscles can be felt so easily, so it's like having an anatomy lesson at the same time.  



Oswin said:


> I would think XNFP types, maybe ISFPs as well.
> (As a possibly irrelevant note, massages make me extremely uncomfortable personally. Are we lovers? No? Then you should not be doing rhythmic touchy things to my naked body. And the 'soothing' voice they use I find creepy and somewhat infuriating. Also, when people tell me to relax, it just makes me kinda want to punch them. That's probably just me though...)


lol! I don't think I've heard that 'soothing' voice used at a massage, though that might be because I've been at people who have specialiced in both classic and sports massage. Though one started to giggle when I reacted to my sore spots and in the end we were both giggling half of the massage.


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## KraChZiMan (Mar 23, 2013)

IniMiney said:


> And why?


*THE TYPE OF PEOPLE WHO ARE GOOD AT MASSAGE!
*

god damn it with these threads...

there's no end of them. :bored:


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## reckful (Jun 19, 2012)

KraChZiMan said:


> *THE TYPE OF PEOPLE WHO ARE GOOD AT MASSAGE!
> *
> 
> god damn it with these threads...
> ...


Jung thought someone's type often had a substantial influence on their occupation, and the official MBTI folks publish a Career Report for each type based on a 92,000-subject database that shows a lot of dramatic differences among the types in terms of what kinds of careers they're likely to pursue (and end up satisfied with).

So you can say "god damn it with these threads" as often as you like, fella, but it basically just makes you sound like you suffer from a charming combination of ignorance and arrogance. :tongue:


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## KraChZiMan (Mar 23, 2013)

reckful said:


> Jung thought someone's type often had a substantial influence on their occupation, and the official MBTI folks publish a Career Report for each type based on a 92,000-subject database that shows a lot of dramatic differences among the types in terms of what kinds of careers they're likely to pursue (and end up satisfied with).
> 
> So you can say "god damn it with these threads" as often as you like, fella, but it basically just makes you sound like you suffer from a charming combination of ignorance and arrogance. :tongue:


Wow... are you even serious, dude?

MBTI has some influence on occupation, but at the end of the day, when I need a massage, I choose the one who has experience on giving massages, not the one which has a certain MBTI type.

Even when two people are equal in their experience, and MBTI type is the only difference between two, I would largely choose by MANY OTHER qualities that are not even remotely related to MBTI.

92,000 subject database on correlation of job satisfaction and MBTI type does say that certain types like different areas of life, perhaps, but it says nothing about how one MBTI type is more fit for the job than the other. It's the same how artist who works as engineer has different approach on the job, which is refreshing for the work environment of life-long engineers, but different approaches are hardly superior/inferior when they bring advantages that others do not have. 

Enough with this type superiority bullshit! Had enough of this crap!!

Let's not turn MBTI into some creepy cultist scientology stuff. MBTI does not affect every single aspect of society, okay?


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## reckful (Jun 19, 2012)

KraChZiMan said:


> Wow... are you even serious, dude?
> 
> MBTI has some influence on occupation, but at the end of the day, when I need a massage, I choose the one who has experience on giving massages, not the one which has a certain MBTI type.
> 
> ...


The OP didn't ask which type would make the best massage therapist, or suggest that anyone should choose a massage therapist based on type.

There was nothing in either the OP or my post about "type superiority," nor was there any suggestion that the MBTI "affects every single aspect of society."

Thanks for playing, KraChZiMan. You never cease to impress.


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## Courtalort (Jun 29, 2013)

I'm a massage therapist. I'm an intuitive and I'm a thinker. 

I needed money in college and knew people who were in the field. I do therapeutic massage and do it for the puzzle of fixing people. It's not intellectually stimulating but all of my clients talk to me when they are getting worked on and it can be entertaining. Stories, ideas to bounce off of, conversations. 

Most of the people I work with are ISFPs and ISFJs. I work with one ESTJ therapist. Thinkers are the minority, but we get our own little niche client base of people who want something different out of their therapists. 

Also, typing people by occupation is somewhat short sighted. I got into this while I'm working on my degree and on my writing, it pays OK per hour and was easy school.


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## will-o'-wisp (Feb 11, 2013)

I was a massage therapist for a while, but I got fed up with it quite quickly. The decider for me was when a guy asked me to massage his genitals with fragrant oils. He was in his late 70s. Lol!
True story.


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## Courtalort (Jun 29, 2013)

^I've never had that problem. But I've always worked in chiropractor's offices, which helps. 

I'm going to stop soon because my body hurts from it.


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## lizw47 (Jan 12, 2015)

I'm going in a different direction than everybody else and saying INFJs. Many are interested in alternative healing and medicine, reiki, energy work, yoga, and I am sure there are quite a few INFJ masseuses in the world.


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## westlose (Oct 9, 2014)

I see easily ISFJs doing this kind of job.


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## Lakin (Feb 4, 2015)

My mom, who I believe is an ESFJ, is a massage therapist.


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## KraChZiMan (Mar 23, 2013)

reckful said:


> The OP didn't ask which type would make the best massage therapist, or suggest that anyone should choose a massage therapist based on type.
> 
> There was nothing in either the OP or my post about "type superiority," nor was there any suggestion that the MBTI "affects every single aspect of society."
> 
> Thanks for playing, KraChZiMan. You never cease to impress.


OP was expecting certain types to be massage therapists. 

Expecting something means that the answer has to be limited, singled out and narrowed down to specific MBTI types.

Answers are usually formed from the perspective of Keirsey - This means that people do the moronic thing where they literally associate letters with profession description, and they get that the massage theraphist has to be ESFP or ESFJ. Thought process will be something stupid like this: 



> doing massages is supposed to be extraverted process, because it's an outwardly action somehow. Also, it has to be sensor, because massage theraphist is touching people. Also, it has to be feeler, because feelers are supposed to be warm or something, maybe thinkers have cold hands? dunno lol. HAHA THINKERS ARE ROBOTS. And damnnnn... P or J? I dunno lol. Massage means perceiving the auras and stuff, but then again it's precise. Lol I dunno. Both will do I guess. Hurray.


This confuses people who just start to get into MBTI and Cognitive functions, because they don't understand why people type in such a weird manner.

Also, this creates stereotypes. We don't need more stereotypes in this community. 

MBTI is not a joke to be trivialized for eternity. If you want to have fun with the theory, there are many topics to discuss and games to play within the theory that are more productive and can't create stereotypes (theme songs, movie character typing, TV show character typing, typing celebrities, discussing how different cognitive functions handle abstract situations and scenarios etc.)

Why they don't create stereotypes? Because in one case, types are assigned to specific people, not groups of people at once, or in another case, the rationalization has to be philosophical/abstract, which makes things infinitely more interesting.

In case it was still misunderstood, let me be clear once more:

*Groups of people are not a monolith, you cannot effectively expect a type or actually type a whole group of people, especially when divided by profession.*


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## reckful (Jun 19, 2012)

KraChZiMan said:


> OP was expecting certain types to be massage therapists.
> 
> Expecting something means that the answer has to be limited, singled out and narrowed down to specific MBTI types.
> 
> ...


Your third post pretty much just piles more stupid onto the stupid in your first two posts.

First, there's a difference between wondering if certain types (there's only 16 of those) tend to enter a certain occupation (there are thousands of those), and wondering if a certain occupation tends to attract certain types. And the OP was wondering about the latter, not the former, so that's the first bit of stupid in your latest post. You say, "OP was expecting certain types to be massage therapists."

Second, you rail about "stereotypes," while sneerily declaring that "answers are usually formed from the perspective of Keirsey - This means that people do the moronic thing where they literally associate letters with profession description, and they get that the massage therapist has to be ESFP or ESFJ."

OK, KraChZiMan, how about finding me a single passage in Keirsey where he says that any particular profession "has to be" one or two of the types, or three PerC posts where the poster says that any particular profession "has to be" one or two of the types. I'm sure it'll be easy for you to find those posts since, as you say, that's how "answers are usually formed" around here.

And if you can't find any posts like that, maybe ponder the irony that your assertion that those kinds of "moronic" assertions are the "usual" around here probably qualifies as a sillier example of "stereotyping" than anything you're likely to find in Keirsey.

Just about everybody — yes, even including all those "moronic" and "stupid" PerC posters you like to look down your nose at — understands that personality type is about _tendencies and probabilities_, so it virtually never makes sense to say things like, "this type always does this," or "that type never does that."

But when it comes to _probabilities_, and as I noted in my first post, Jung himself thought that someone's type often had a substantial influence on their occupation, and the official MBTI folks have collected lots of data that shows dramatic differences among the types in terms of what kinds of careers they're likely to pursue (and end up satisfied with).

So there's nothing "stupid" or "moronic" about an OP that wonders if people think that massage therapists are more likely to be certain types.

What's stupid and moronic, IMHO, is coming into a thread like that and (1) saying "god damn it with these threads," and (2) suggesting that the "usual" responses to those kinds of OPs are "stupid" and "moronic."

If you can somehow manage to get over your condescension and your integrity-challenged straw-manning and misrepresentation of the posts you're purporting to reply to, maybe you'll come to understand that the stupidest posts in this particular thread — not to mention the ones most guilty of "stereotyping" — have been yours.


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## KraChZiMan (Mar 23, 2013)

reckful said:


> Your third post pretty much just piles more stupid onto the stupid in your first two posts.
> 
> First, there's a difference between wondering if certain types (there's only 16 of those) tend to enter a certain occupation (there are thousands of those), and wondering if a certain occupation tends to attract certain types. And the OP was wondering about the latter, not the former, so that's the first bit of stupid in your latest post. You say, "OP was expecting certain types to be massage therapists."
> 
> ...


Calling my 2 cent's worth stupid is not cool at all. Also, making so many accuses at my adress is even less cool. 

This is starting to get super ridiculous, the whole situation here. Why are you even so mad at me? I am just a stranger on the internet. When I was mad, I was mad at something I noticed in this thread, while you got angry about me in particular. Oh, you know what? Take a beer, kick back and relax, time to stop the rage fest :tongue:


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## Lady D (Mar 17, 2013)

Any type with strong hands would do. It's a tough job. After giving ONE HOUR massage my hands feel pretty tired. Imagine doing that several hours a day, every day. 

I'm not an educated mt, BTW. Just doing it for money and for friends.


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## IamLegend (Apr 7, 2017)

I've been a LMP for 5 years now, specializing in deep tissue work for injuries. It's OK, but not a great choice for me. Many days I need to be on the table as a client, myself! Mirabella is correct - it's fine for additional part-time income. That's the best I can say about it, as well.


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## Drecon (Jun 20, 2016)

I'd say any Se-user will have the ability to feel right at home in that kind of profession.


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## Aluminum Frost (Oct 1, 2017)

IxFx enneagram 9, seems to be what most of them are. ASMRtists too


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## jtour (Oct 26, 2017)

I don't know. I lived with an LMT for about a year in another life. I'm not that good at typing other people, but here's her characteristics, as best I can remember:

sentimental
Fe somewhere on the stack
organized (she worked out of her apartment, as well as at a beauty salon with rooms for masseuses)
stubborn, almost in a masculine kind of way
sort of a nympho -- she liked sex a lot
kind of naïve about street-smarts
had a deep interest in and knowledge about physiology, beyond what was required for her trade
she seemed to have some ability and interest in sizing people up psychologically, intuiting others' needs
very romantic -- flowers, you know, stuff like that

A while after I took a job in another country for a limited contract, I came across a letter to a local "alternative paper" romance advice column online where she asked if she should keep me on the front burner until I came back, or get back with her ex-husband; she described me as "cruel," "drunk," "mean," and "intelligent," so she clearly was pretty perceptive about others.


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## IamLegend (Apr 7, 2017)

I'd like to see a hot sexy girl as a massage therapist. A massage therapist knows the body, so working with it at most times is a detailed endeavor. If she is making love to you, they know most erotic spots and arteries that affect the body in ways unlike any other. I know what I am talking about 'cause of recent experience with erotic massage in Kiev. When someone is trying to seduce you, versus giving you a massage, you know at some point it will be your turn to give and not receive.


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