What to Look For In a Colonic Therapist?

 What You Should Know When Seeking Colonics (aka... Colon Hydrotherapy).

Cleansing the colon with water has been done for thousands of year falling in and out of vogue. Today we refer to professionally administered colon cleansing as Colonics or aka... Colon Hydrotherapy. It is a safe, effective and natural way to cleanse your body. This short blog is not about why you should do colonics or what colonics are,  but specifically, about the colonic industry and what you should know when you seek colonics.

So how do you find a good place to cleanse? Well, its not about a place or a system. What matters is the therapist. The short answer is to schedule with a I-ACT Certified Therapist. The higher the credentials the better and if you can find one that is National Board Certified, that is the best.  

So here is what you should know about the Colon Hydrotherapy Industry. Get ready to be shocked...

Did you know the colonic industry is NOT regulated? Personal Trainers are required by the state to be licensed and so are massage therapists and hair stylists. But not colon therapists. Except in Florida, there is absolutely ZERO oversight or requirements to cleanse someone’s colon with water. There is no one making sure that the therapist does it safely or that the therapist has any proper training (will get to “proper” in a minute) nor is anyone checking on the cleanliness of the the place or the maintenance of the systems. Absolutely nothing. You are completely trusting in the therapist to know what is right and to do it right each time.

There are 3 major things to look for when looking for a therapist. Notice I said therapist because the “place” that you choose does not give them. Colonics are given by therapists at a place. You really want to look past the website and the building and ask  WHO is the person in charge of the colonic protocols? What should you look for?

1 True Professional Certification. Absolutely Essential. But the therapist says she is CERTIFIED!  You have to ask by whom?  Now a RN or ND who has had training in colonics would not need to be “certified” if they have been directly trained by a I-ACT Certified Therapist and have experience with giving colonics and enemas like the ones who work with us and follow I-ACT practices.  But the average therapist out there who is not an RN or ND, likely has no REAL medical training or certification.  Real certification is by the International Association of Colon Hydrotherapists or I-ACT for short. This certification has 4 levels starting at Foundation, Intermediate, Advanced and Instructor. (I achieved Instructor level in 2008). Then there is National Board certification of which I am certified, and there are even fewer of those around. Many therapists say they are certified by a “Guru” which I would suggest you not trust. So what is the big deal about being I-ACT and National Board Certified? TRAINING or more specifically, evidence based training acceptable by the government and medical liability insurance. You see, the government only recognizes I-ACT and The National Board for certification. This training thoroughly covers how to operate the systems, how to clean the systems/room so no cross contamination, and how colonics affects the body and how to administer colonics.  However, certification is different from licensure. Simply put, licensure means it is a profession regulated by the government and the government collects fees and requires therapists meet certain qualifications to be licensed and maintain licensure. Licensure also gives the therapist a certain level of protection.
The only state that requires licensure for Colon Hydrotherapists is Florida and they have for over 30 years with no complaints. But you also have to be a massage therapist in Florida to be a colon hydrotherapist. But I digress. What is likely to happen with non I-ACT certified therapists? Many non I-ACT certified therapists present themselves as “Guru” like therapists. They will tell clients what is coming out of them based on subjective information. and will make claims or diagnose you with parasites or yeast infection and then sell you a package of colonics or their parasite cleanse.  I know one who will sing shamanic songs over you. I hear he has a great voice. This is one of the main reasons doctors are so against colonics and why so many doctors refer their patients to us.  I agree with them. I don’t trust the guru therapists either for colonics. Go to “guru’s” for massage or naturopathic or most any other alternative health procedure, but not something like colonics that really needs a professional approach to internal cleansing.  Colonics is not like a haircut. When the colon therapist makes a mistake, the client can have serious physical consequences. I have yet to meet a non I-ACT certified therapist who was professional or who approached internal cleansing with an understanding of how it effected the body. They tend to be “spiritual, energetic and subjective testing” practitioners instead of someone you would want to trust with a procedure that had direct physical affects. Oh yes!,  colonics effect the entire human being, body mind and spirit, but it is the physical body that suffers when an uncertified and improperly trained therapist unknowingly falters or carelessly administers colonics.  Most I-ACT certified therapists will know that the first priority of their job is providing a perfectly clean system and environment to cleanse in. In comparison, most “guru”s think the colonic is just a way to deliver their “mojo”.  The public does not know the difference when they choose as their first colonic a “guru”. I marvel with clients who had such bad first colonic experiences and then, they try again with someone else. If you are one of those, bravo! Because professional colonics are life changing and something most everyone with a colon should undergo.

2.  Not all I-ACT certified therapists are professional but it is a minimum requirement for me to choose a therapist. So when you find a therapist that is “I-ACT certified / National Board Certified”, what next? In order to be I-ACT certified, they have to do colonics on a FDA Registered Class II Medical Device and use disposable tubes. Keep in mind, it is NOT the system, but the therapist that determines the overall results of the colonic. The therapist determines everything. 

3.   The third major thing to look for is cleanliness of the system and the room. How would you know if they are really clean because most of them advertise they are clean. You will know by asking the following:  

•  Is there CARPET anywhere in the room, hallway or lobby?  (People “drip” when they get off the table/colonic system. They also have “accidents’ in the room, hallway and lobby”. No way can you disinfect carpet. Don’t get colonics at a place with carpet. Huge red flag.
• Ask them if they re-use any towels without laundering them. Some therapists will use the same top blanket or head rest towel or even the towel draped over the back rest. They may use some fresh towels, but not change all of them out. They will probably tell you “no” even if they are. So you got to really look at those towels when you get into the room. Ask the therapist "eye to eye" if they reuse the towels and see if they hesitate. Don’t feel bad asking for “fresh” towels that you can see folded up and taken off the shelf. It’s your body at risk of cross contamination.
• Ask them how much time they spend cleaning a room. It really should be at least 20 minutes for open system and 10 minutes for a closed system. Oh I know the closed does not have as much surface area to clean but they need to clean the room! That means disinfecting with mopping the floor and every surface area disinfected such as sink, cabinet, door nobs, etc.... We allow 30 minutes to thoroughly clean the room and system.  You should inspect your colonic room and system / table before getting on. We go over ours with a flashlight and have a second staff member visually checking the system before we bring a client back. Look around the room carefully and don’t hesitate to turn the overhead light on and inspect the room. If they are using essential oils, then likely there will be oil stains on the walls, etc...
• Ask them what they are using to disinfect with? Is it powerful enough for HIV? Some therapists in an effort to be a “green” clinic and accommodate the chemically sensitive people are using essential oils or Kangen Water or Vinegar. This is a huge NO NO! Run from such a place. To disinfect the system properly so that the therapist can ensure no cross contamination, the therapist needs to wear gloves and mask and use a powerful hospital grade disinfectant with proper amount of time applied on the system.
• Ask the therapist about how often they change out the filters? it should be once a month on the carbon filters and yearly on the UV light.
• Ask them if there is fluoride in the water and if that city fluoridates, then if they use an RO and restructuring water system. You do not want to get a colonic with fluoridated water!  Fluoridated water is very harmful to the human body and more so when given in a colonic. (https://fluoridealert.org/issues/health/ ). Also SE Portland had a huge problem with a glass blowing company contaminating the water and there was a well known colonic place nearby that likely was using this contaminated water when giving the colonics until they moved out of that area. So make sure the place where you are getting colonics has proper water filtration for the city water they are using. This is the responsibility of the therapist.

I know this is a scary list of things that could go wrong with colonics, but be encouraged, there are professional therapists out there who do it right. You can see a list of I-ACT Certified Therapists at www.I-ACT.org. This is a great starting point.  When you find a good therapist, you will be amazed at the wonders of colonics. It will be worth the search. 

When it comes to colonics, look for the most expensive therapists with the highest credentials. More important than how long they have been giving colonics is the training and if they are following professional standards. I know a therapist who used to be in Portland giving colonics for 29 years, but she was giving them wrong for 29 years. She would eat her lunch right beside the client while they were getting the colonic! One of her therapists would call me and ask me to get special clients in with me because she knew she was not allowed to help them in a professional way. She was not allowed to give them the time they needed to cleanse. Another therapist called me saying her company was reusing tubes! I could go on and on about the bad therapists. I thought about doing a “Tabitha’s Takeover” but would rather do one looking for those who do it right and highlighting them. Two of my favorite therapists are Gayle Palms (Ancient Therapies Studio in Phoenix, AZ http://www.ancienttherapies.net) and another is Tara Alder (Alderbrook Healing Arts in Eugene OR http://www.alderbrooke.com). So look for certification, professionalism and cleanliness and ask the big questions when you book and right before getting on that system. A therapist who does it right will brag about their cleanliness protocols and professionalism. I love it when people ask me these questions because it shows that we exceed the industry standards and it is one of the reasons people trust us. They can see we are serious about their safety and having the best colonic experience.  I hope this blog helps you find a professional therapist near you!