Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1208028
Ta k e 5 a n d t r y A B M P F i v e - M i n u t e M u s c l e s a t w w w. a b m p . c o m / f i v e - m i n u t e - m u s c l e s . 57 went to change the table and he'd left a mess! Didn't even bother to cover it or hide it." Therapist Experience #4 "Male client in his 60s was face down on my table. He lifted his pelvis and reached his hand between his legs. He was trying to catch my hand, as I was working his leg, and he said he wanted to 'show me what he wanted me to do.' I told him this wasn't that kind of place, and he said, 'Everyone has their price.' He offered a thousand extra dollars, and each time I said no, he added a thousand, eventually offering $3,000. He kept trying to 'normalize' it by saying, 'It's not sex, it's just the body. They do this at all the places in Europe.' " Here are a few more examples collected by surveying dozens of currently practicing massage therapists: • Client greeting them at the door naked or in bondage attire. • Client asking for genitals to be massaged or a "happy ending," often for extra pay. • Client arousing themselves on the massage table and/or ejaculating. • Client grabbing therapist's legs or other accessible part of their body or trying to hug or kiss them. • Client telling sexually inappropriate jokes, stories, or comments. • Client making romantic or sexual advances. • Client burying head in therapist's chest. • Client not following therapist's instructions about draping. • Client pushing the boundaries of what is appropriate as outlined by therapist. Effects of Inappropriate Client Behavior In response to inappropriate behavior, therapists experience a range of emotions depending on their own personal history and the nature of the client interaction. Therapist Reaction #1 "I was so upset and angry I closed my office for a week. I felt violated, confused, and angry. I questioned every person who was ever on my table and wondered if they had done the same and maybe I just didn't realize it. It damaged me to my core. I know we're trained to understand it will usually happen, but it rocked me. I never really thought it would happen to me. I tried to make my office as clinical as possible [after that]." Therapist Reaction #2 "I was really stressed and scared, being a survivor of sexual abuse." Therapist Reaction #3 "The feeling is that the person with the money is held in higher power by the spa." Spa management often says they will support their therapists, but many therapists report not feeling like they have the authority to end an uncomfortable session. Some even fear that if they report a client's inappropriate behavior it will reflect poorly on them. This is not true in all spa settings, but should you be in this situation, know that it is your right to end a session at any time under any circumstance. When you are interviewing at a spa, you can ask them questions about their policies and the support they offer their therapists in these situations. Therapists recall feeling: • Anger/appalled • Embarrassment/shame/guilt • Shock/surprise • Upset/shaken • Violated • Benjamin, B. E., and C. Sohnen-Moe. The Ethics of Touch: The Hands- on Practitioner's Guide to Creating a Professional, Safe, and Enduring Practice, 2nd ed. Tucson, AZ: Sohnen Moe Associates, Inc., 2014 • "Ethics: Preventing Sexual Misconduct in Massage Therapy" with Ben Benjamin, PhD, www.abmp.com/learn/course/ethics-preventing- sexual-misconduct-massage-therapy • Legit Massage Therapists Say Client Often The Aggressor: Survey (www.patch.com/us/across-america/legit-massage-therapists-say- client-often-aggressor-survey) • "Maintaining Sexual Ethics: Parts 1–4" with Anne Williams, www. abmp.com/learn/course/maintaining-sexual-ethics-part-1-key- concepts • Me Too Movement (www.metoomvmt.org) • National Sexual Violence Resource Center (www.nsvrc.org/find-help) For More Information