Massage & Bodywork

November/December 2011

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visit abmp.com MAKING TOUGH CHOICES All licensed professions have a code of ethics—a document spelling out certain rules of moral behavior that all agree to abide by—in the interest of public protection. Along with doctors and other medical professionals, massage therapists work with people who are unclothed and in vulnerable positions, making it all the more necessary to conduct ourselves in an ethical manner. Yet, we're all human, with all our particular faults, and products of our raising. One person may have been in a home environment where high morals were modeled and expected, while another may have grown up in bad circumstances without positive examples. The study of professional ethics is probably the most important part of a massage education, but many schools give it no more than a cursory swipe. One student recently complained, "My teacher doesn't like ethics, so she spends that time just talking about something else." Many programs tend to exclusively focus on what to do if a client makes a sexual overture. Unfortunately, that approach doesn't even begin to address the subject of ethics. Before you know it, you're out there practicing massage in the real world without a good foundation, and having to learn your lessons the hard way. PUT YOURSELF IN THE CONSUMER'S PLACE To borrow a phrase from the late Nina McIntosh, author of The Educated Heart: Professional Guidelines for Massage Therapists, Bodyworkers, and Movement Teachers (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2010), "Ethics is just an educated way of being kind." Put yourself in the consumer's place for a moment. Don't you prefer to do business with people you know to be fair and honest? If you've ever had a bad customer service experience, or felt as if you've been cheated or mistreated when doing business with someone, you know what I mean. If you get really bad service in a restaurant, chances are you will tell your friends how terrible it was. If you buy some piece of merchandise that falls apart immediately, and the store won't make good on it, you'll tell your friends. It's the same with the massage profession. Word of mouth is the cheapest and best advertising we can get. It's difficult for any business to survive without repeat customers, and it's difficult to survive unless your business continues to grow. If you depend on making a living from massage, you need to be able to replace clients as they leave, even if you're not actively seeking new ones at the moment. Recommendations from existing and former clients can be your best avenues to success. But, if you're conducting your business in an unethical manner, it can be your fast track to career disaster. That's exponentially true if you practice in a rural area or small town, where word travels fast. LET'S TALK ABOUT SEX Violating the sacred space of the massage room with sex is the worst thing that can happen in a practice. For starters, it's prostitution if you're getting paid for the "massage." A happy ending isn't happy at all when you get caught, reported to the massage board or law enforcement, and gossiped about among the townspeople and your peers. You don't have to be committing a sex act in order to dance on the precipice of ethics violations. The Professional Code of Ethics (borrowed from Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals, but most regulated state rules contain a similar sentiment) states that massage therapists will "not be affiliated with or employed by any business that utilizes any form of sexual suggestiveness or explicit sexuality in its advertising or promotion of services or in the actual practice of its services." A thoughtless action like careless draping that leaves the client exposed is misconduct, whether intentional or not. It may not be fair to judge a book by its cover, but dressing provocatively (displaying cleavage, or showing a thong rising out of the back of your pants) could be construed as sexualizing behavior. tune in to your practice at ABMPtv 21

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