I know this is quite an old thread but I have only just joined Healthy Pages and thought I would try and clear things up for anyone reading it, as I have done courses through Gateway with Claire in Richmond (who is now London Therapists and not through Gateway), with various other Gateway tutors, and I have also done courses with Annalisa Zisman (also in the Richmond area - overlooking the park as 'Rach M' mentioned previously). Annalisa was associated with Gateway for a short while last year (I think this is who 'peaceandtranquility' meant in the post above but called her Anna Lousie) but she now runs her own courses as Inspire Massage Workshops.
The Gateway workshops I did were OK I guess - I liked the small groups and I did find that you could learn a lot in a day that way, but to be honest I didn't find the tutors to be nearly as enthusiastic or inspiring as Annalisa. I came away from the workshop I did last year with Claire feeling less than confident about giving the treatments and I felt that she gave out the practitioners certificates too easily, just to get us out of the door before 4pm!
The workshop I did with Annalisa earlier this year on the other hand was wonderful (the natural lift facial massage/ natural 'face lift' massage... still not sure why the name keeps changing!) She is so passionate and in turn makes you feel passionate about the treatment and also she really helped my confidence as a therapist in general (I had only qualified a few months before and hadn't really had any experience). She also invited me back to attend the workshop a second time without paying any extra, because she said it was important that I was confident about the treatment before using it in my new therapy practice.
I love Annalisa's work ethic and commitment to turning out great therapists, rather than just taking the cash regardless of how well people have picked up the therapies, and she is also a fantiastic teacher so I would definitely recommend any of her courses - [link=http://www.inspiremassageworkshops.co.uk]www.inspiremassageworkshops.co.uk[/link]
Rach M - did you do the facial course in the end? I'd love to know how you got on!
Janey