Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1402696
76 m a s s a g e & b o d y wo r k s e p te m b e r/o c to b e r 2 0 2 1 SURVEYS Set up simple surveys to be automatically sent to every new client after they receive a session from one of your therapists. Send the survey again every two to three months. A victim of sexual abuse often needs time and physical distance from the event to process it and decide to report an incident. The client is often in shock and not thinking clearly. Surveys are an effective method for spotting inappropriate behavior and boundary crossings before they escalate into sexual misconduct. Small boundary crossings and violations are often the precursors to gross sexual assault. The surveys should have an option for the client to remain anonymous. If an issue presents itself in the survey or there is a question about possible misconduct, there should be immediate follow-up with the therapist. For example, if they had loose, sloppy draping or asked the client inappropriate personal questions, follow-up training may be all that is needed. However, if a pattern of poor boundaries is spotted, or if the client was inappropriately exposed, even momentarily, due to poor draping, the therapist should be put on probation and carefully monitored. If warranted, your business can begin an investigation of this therapist and/or use a mystery shopper (see below) to gain further information. (Additional resource: see "Sample Client Survey" at abmp.com/ keeping-clients-safe.) TRAINING Take the time to orient and train every new hire both during onboarding and then approximately every two or three months. Since 2001, large corporations purchased many of the best massage schools in the United States and proceeded to cut most of the ethics, communication, and business skills courses to save money. Many of these new owners often let go of the most experienced teachers because they were paid at a higher rate. These were If the inappropriate incident was initiated by the client, they should have been permanently banned already. If the accused was a therapist, they should already be suspended from working at the organization pending an investigation and should not be present at this meeting. The alleged incident should be described by management in detail to all attendees. Employees are asked to come forward at that time, privately afterward, or anonymously with any information they may have about this or any other incident they know of where a therapist or client has been inappropriate. They should also be encouraged to reach out to management or file an anonymous report any time they become aware of any such behaviors—not just in response to a meeting. Otherwise, employees often never say anything, and the inappropriate incidents go uninvestigated or completely unreported. Who Should Run the Meeting? Likely two people—the most skilled meeting facilitator you have and the person most knowledgeable about ethics and sexual assault issues. It could be your location director and the head of human resources. If these types of skills are not present on your staff, hire a consultant from outside your organization. Meeting Length. Depending on the number of employees, the meeting would likely need to be at least 90 minutes long to cover everything and give staff and therapists enough time to speak. Sample Meeting Agenda Outline 1. Define the goal of the meeting. • Keeping clients and therapists safe • Ensuring the integrity of the profession • Upholding the values of the organization • Protecting the reputation of the spa or clinic 2. Emphasize why sexual assault prevention is so important. • Describe in detail how damaging a sexual assault or boundary violation can be to a client's life. • Distribute to all employees articles that detail the ramifications of sexual assault. 3. Refamiliarize all employees with the company's policies and how possible consequences are termination of employment, loss of license, arrest, being added to the sex offender registry, and imprisonment. Discuss Who Specifically Should Be Contacted to Make a Complaint: Management, Supervisor, Police • What online systems are in place at the organization for reporting an assault? • How can someone report anonymously about an assault? • When you describe the incident, do it in detail. Don't be subtle. Speak the whole truth. It's often useful to have the therapists and staff meet in pairs for approximately five minutes so they feel freer to speak and encourage each other to come forward with information. Open the Discussion to the Full Staff and Therapists. Ask for reactions to the incident. It's often useful to start the conversation with a discussion about times when clients may have been inappropriate with the therapists or staff. This often opens the door to allow therapists in particular to speak more honestly about uncomfortable experiences they have had and ones they have heard about from their clients. Wrap up the meeting by having each person speak for a moment about the usefulness of the meeting. Be sure to state that people can pass if they wish to. Invite those who are too shy to speak in public to come to a designated person in management after the meeting to speak privately.