What is an APC Master Practitioner, and do you need one?

Two titles appear on our website and booking calendar: APC Master Practitioner and Active Performance Therapist. Clients often ask what the difference is and whether the Master Practitioner surcharge is worth paying. This is how it works.

The two roles

APC Master Practitioners are the senior practitioners who developed and oversee Active Performance Therapy at the clinic: founder Ben Duong and Piret Lohmus. Both hold a Diploma of Remedial Massage with advanced dry needling training, and both have trained the rest of the team in the clinic’s assessment method. Every new client is assessed by a Master Practitioner at their first appointment, and treatment plans are set and reviewed by them.

Active Performance Therapists are the clinic’s qualified remedial massage therapists, trained in the same method to Level 2, who deliver treatment following the plan. Darren Hogan, for example, brings more than 18 years in the industry, a personal training background and Active Release Techniques training.

What happens at a first appointment

Your Consultation and Initial Treatment is 60 minutes with a Master Practitioner. It starts with a conversation about your history and goals, then a movement and hands-on assessment, then treatment on the day. You leave with a plan: what we found, which techniques will help, how often to come, and the exercises to do between visits.

Follow-up appointments and the surcharge

Standard follow-ups are booked as Follow Up Appointment, Short (45 minutes), Standard (60) or Extended (90), and may be delivered by any of our practitioners following your plan. Every therapist can bring a Master Practitioner or one of the directors into your care for a second opinion, and if a problem needs escalating, it is. If you would prefer your follow-up treatment delivered privately by Ben or Piret, book the Follow Up with AP Master Practitioners option instead; it carries a $40 surcharge. Full details are on the pricing page.

Do you need one?

For most clients the standard follow-up is the right choice: the plan is already set, and our therapists are trained in the same techniques. Clients who choose the Master Practitioner option tend to have complex or long-standing problems, want continuity with the person who assessed them, or simply have a preference. Either way the assessment behind the treatment is the same, which is the part that matters most.

You can meet the team or book online and choose a practitioner directly.