Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/68012
QUESTIONS ABOUT PROFESSIONAL BOUNDARIES AND ETHICS? CONTACT NINA MCINTOSH AT 877-327-0600 OR VISIT WWW.EDUCATEDHEART.COM. party, it's usually better to deal with a colleague directly than assuming they are deliberately behaving without concern for the profession, clients, or colleagues and won't be open to feedback. And if the practitioner is intentionally being unethical, then the confrontation could serve as a warning and might motivate him or her to change the behavior. There are choices about how to approach the therapist in question. You might want to enlist a third party to talk with this person, such as a respected teacher, someone who could keep the situation confi dential. You would want someone who could be counted on to be objective so that the massage therapist doesn't feel ganged-up on. If you have fears of retaliation for whatever reason, using a third person would also give you the choice of remaining anonymous. Or you could enlist a trusted and objective third person as a witness in a meeting with the therapist in question, someone who could back you up if the conversation went bad or if the therapist became hostile later. If that's not possible or you want to deal with the therapist more indirectly, using e-mail is a possible option. It's less offi cial (and less intimidating) than a letter and unlike a phone call, gives you the opportunity to say exactly what you want and gives the practitioner the time to think about his responses. Of course, a letter or a phone call are options, too. If you contact him yourself, whether by e-mail, letter, or phone, you could begin by admitting (assuming that it's true), that you feel awkward about the situation. Let him know that you have heard some rumors about his professional behavior that concern you and that you know that if you were in his place, you'd rather hear the rumors and address them rather than having colleagues talk behind your back. (Perhaps you don't need to say this right away, but you could raise the issue that FOSTER CAMARADERIE Our work can be isolating. Family, friends, and the culture at large don't always see the value of what we do. We need each other's support and good will in order to thrive. It serves us well to foster an attitude of camaraderie toward other massage therapists, to want to help each other. Sometimes that help may be in the form of tough love, holding colleagues accountable and working to educate them. it's better than being presented with an ethics complaint out of the blue.) If the rumors are true, you would hope his response (or any other therapist's) would be to own up to infl ating his qualifi cations, apologize, and promise not to do it again. If he is being falsely accused, the ideal would be for him to state that the rumors are untrue, but still thank you for having the courage to come to him directly. If the therapist refuses to respond or becomes angry about being challenged, then you have to let it go. You can't fi le a complaint on second- hand information (and the chance that he has been wrongly accused). Of course, you could set up a "sting" and, for instance, get a friend to call him, posing as a client, to see if he does make disparaging comments about other massage therapists. But then again, you have to determine if your time and energy could be best spent on improving your own practice— especially in a situation like this where little harm is being done to clients. *Author's note: to clarify, unprofessional applies to behavior that isn't strictly for the good of the client or your relationship with the client or that could cast a bad light on your own reputation or the profession's. Some unprofessional acts are fairly common and relatively harmless, such as not being on time. You want to avoid being unprofessional, but generally no one will haul a practitioner into court or fi le a complaint for being late. On the other hand, behavior that is unethical is harmful enough that the damage it does to the client or to the profession (or, as in this case, to other professionals) is in violation of civil laws or the ethics codes of professional associations or licensing boards. Most such codes, even if they don't specify that you can't malign another professional, have language general enough to cover this behavior—such as requiring that you do no harm to the profession or other colleagues. years of experience as a bodyworker with her previous years as a psychiatric social worker. She is the author of The Educated Heart: Professional Boundaries for Massage Therapists, Bodyworkers, and Movement Teachers. To learn more about professional boundaries and ethics, visit www.educatedheart.com. Nina McIntosh combines more than 20 To learn more about illustrator Mari Gayatri Stein, visit www.gypsydogpress.com. visit massageandbodywork.com to access your digital magazine 121