Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/72121
During the Massage If a client's comments are counter to the healing process, they can be helped through redirection. If clients are too demanding or personal, then using direct, honest communication is helpful. Using creative visualization to redirect any negative talk, and energy work to calm an overworked adrenal system, can help. If a client discusses something that makes you uncomfortable, check how you feel around this person, be nonjudgmental, and continue the massage while redirecting the conversation. If you have one verbal incident that feels uncomfortable, you might let it slide if it was not offensive to you. If someone continues to make you uncomfortable, you may need to refer them to someone else. Asking your client to refrain from comments or telling them they are making you feel uncomfortable already sets up an uneasy situation once you have started the session. If someone crosses any physical boundaries, then you need to stop the session. Being prepared for this scenario is not a bad idea since it is better to know how you would handle it than to be caught unprepared. In a chiropractic or physical therapist office, it is easy to simply discuss the client with your boss or colleague and keep them apprised of any issues. In your own practice, however, it is helpful to be prepared to take action. After the Massage For clients who are always late or disregard appointment times, reminder calls and emails with cancellation policies included are a necessity. For clients who have breached your boundaries, suggest they will get better care with someone else. Unless the offense was unethical, the more politely you can refer, the better. It is important to know your own limits and your own boundaries, because even if someone else can handle a disrespectful or challenging client, you might not be able to. It is in your client's and your own best interest to refer them on to another health-care professional. THE NONCOMPLIANT As health practitioners, we strive to help every client become healthier, but we all know that is simply impossible. Ideally, every client follows our self-care suggestions, but many clients expect their therapist to fix them in one session, or they return with the same complaint after ignoring any advice that might have been given. The majority of clients are amazing. They listen and take responsibility for their own health. Then there are the clients who want no part in their own care. Noncompliant clients are difficult for all health practitioners. With the first session, you might notice on your health form that your client has had a chronic complaint and not followed protocol from previous health professionals, or you might have a skeptic who complains that no one helped her, but she never followed her therapist's advice. Prepare yourself for a client who will come to you for "the fix," but will not be willing to listen. Take a more detailed health history to identify the client's resistance to following advice so that the same problem can be avoided in your sessions. Ataba reminds clients to follow her suggestions for herbal remedies via email and during follow-up appointments. "I always discuss whether my clients have been following my advice and discuss the positive results they will get if they do," she says. "I try not to focus on the negative, but I do remind them every session." Therapists cannot expect all clients to follow their advice, but we can hope the majority will take responsibility for their own health. For noncompliant clients, we can offer support and a detailed treatment plan, but we cannot ensure follow-through. To work with these clients effectively, we must simply focus on what we are able to do and not worry about what we cannot change. Every client poses a challenge to a massage therapist—they are all wonderful opportunities for us to grow as professionals and use what we know to help them relax and heal. Being prepared is the best way to ensure you can take care of yourself and your challenging clients effectively and compassionately. Vanessa King, an MT, holistic health practitioner, clinical nutritionist, and yoga and somatic therapist, has been practicing massage therapy since 1991. She writes and edits for technology and health websites, and runs her private bodywork practice at Sage Acupuncture and The Keller Clinic in San Diego, California. Visit www.sageacupuncture.com.