Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/68012
WORKING WITH OBESE CLIENTS self-doubting. Plenty have been able to eschew the negative messages aimed at them and go through life feeling happy, confident, and sexy. However, receiving massage puts even the most healthy, well-adjusted person in a state of vulnerability; for clients who are repeatedly exposed to stigma about their bodies, it can feel downright dangerous. It's essential that massage therapists maintain a safe atmosphere that encourages their obese clients to feel welcome and not judged. Making your office fat friendly, as discussed, is one of the most practical ways to create a safe space for clients. But what you say—and don't say—is equally important. One of the crucial steps you can practice is to refrain from diet and exercise advice. Not only is weight-loss advice outside the scope of your practice, but it can reinforce the idea that your clients aren't OK just as they are. "Everyone from their mother to their doctor to plenty of strangers on the street have done that all their lives," Brennan says. Furthermore, studies have shown that many obese people delay or cease going to the doctor because they don't want to be lectured every time anything's wrong with them. You certainly don't want your clients to stop coming to you for this reason, and you might very well be one of their main outlets for wellness care. Large clients may even start talking negatively about their body. Through your compassionate touch and safe space, you have the opportunity to counteract that self- hatred. Whenever Nesbitt-Aldrich's clients start talking negatively about their bodies, she says, "While you're here, in this time and in this space, you are beautiful and you are perfect." time was exhausting. Sometimes my boundaries became fuzzy, too. I also found myself absorbing much of his emotional pain—which no doubt exacerbated my own physical fatigue and pain. I didn't know what to do. Terkelsen suggests the importance of self-care when working with these kinds of physical and emotional challenges. After the massage, practice counteractive measures—like stretching your body the opposite of how you worked with it—in order to unwind back to a neutral position. Don't schedule a client right after any challenging massage; give yourself at least a few hours to rest and revive yourself, or make that client your last of the day. As for the emotional challenges, SELF-CARE Let's revisit George, the 400-plus pound client who wanted deep massage. George was coming in for 90-minute massages weekly—which had great financial benefits—but I was never able to work on him in a way that didn't cause me varying levels of pain. My skills also felt compromised, and I never felt like I was giving him my best work. Additionally, George had a range of complicated psychological issues he'd been working through. Like many obese people, George had been abused as a child. He felt that putting on weight was a way of protecting, or armoring, himself. Although he had done a great deal of work around these issues, he still struggled with boundaries. This meant my boundaries were challenged, and trying to be on guard all the Terkelsen suggests setting an intention for your space that provides safety for both you and your client. Conversely, after a session, clear the space of stuck or negative energy. If this isn't your style, then do something physical to clear your head, like taking a walk. If you practice all these measures and still find yourself compromised, then you might have to consider letting the client go. Barck Garofalo says that in OSM's communication and ethics class, they role play a scenario where an overweight client comes in. They ask students to consider what they will do. "Are you going to turn them away, and what words would you use?" Barck Garofalo asks. "Will you suck it up, or will you find a level in yourself you didn't know was there?" When asked if it's ever OK to let a client go because of the weight issue, Brennan makes the distinction that if it's about your own unresolved prejudices, you need to "get over yourself." Be honest with yourself about what's really bothering you visit massageandbodywork.com to access your digital magazine 47