Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/68013
QUESTIONS ABOUT PROFESSIONAL BOUNDARIES AND ETHICS? CONTACT NINA MCINTOSH AT 877-327-0600 OR VISIT WWW.EDUCATEDHEART.COM. It is better to lose a session fee than to put yourself in danger. bedrooms are (and your office is) can be suggestive to new clients. Even in an office building, don't work in an isolated space with clients you don't know. Don't schedule new clients late in the day or at times when no one else is around. BE ESPECIALLY CAREFUL ABOUT OUTCALLS Outcalls require you to go into someone else's home where you might be at the mercy of any hidden agendas the client might have. Screen such calls carefully or only do outcalls with regular clients or with people who have been referred by someone you trust. One male massage therapist related a story of being "set up" by a woman who wanted to make her boyfriend jealous. During the outcall, the client threw the draping off her chest just as her boyfriend burst through the door. The boyfriend made angry accusations, and the massage therapist fled, unharmed but wiser. SPELL OUT YOUR POLICIES IN WRITING As part of their intake process, some massage therapists in private practice ask new clients to sign an agreement showing they understand financial and other policies, including the statement that the practitioner has the right to terminate a session if the client speaks or acts inappropriately. The clearer you can make it from the beginning that this is a nonsexual massage, the easier it will be for you to avoid inappropriate requests. POST YOUR CODE OF ETHICS Whether one you agreed to when you joined a professional association or one that identifies your personal parameters, a code of ethics specifies your professional boundaries. Post it where clients can read the details and understand how it helps define your professional relationships. CHOOSE YOUR EMPLOYERS WELL Before taking a job at a spa, make sure your employer will back you up if you choose to end a session or choose not to work with a client who has made sexual requests. EDUCATING CLIENTS There is no set way to respond when a client on the table asks you for something that is inappropriate. It depends on your own comfort level, how safe the setting is, and your history with the client. Some clients are simply misinformed; sometimes all you have to do is educate them and set limits. If a client makes an inappropriate sexual suggestion during the session, don't ignore it; to do so may be seen as encouragement. Instead, respond immediately: • Stop the massage. • Take your hands off the client's body. • Address the situation. • Define your boundaries. For example, you can say, "I want to make it clear that this is a nonsexual, nonsensual massage and I won't work with anyone who is acting inappropriately." Many practitioners would simply end the massage then and leave the room, regardless of what the client says. Others, depending on their comfort level, might give a client who has made an inappropriate remark or a physical pass a chance to improve his behavior. Sometimes a client doesn't intend to be offensive. If you're not sure what the client's intentions are but still feel uncomfortable or threatened by his comments or behavior, trust your feelings and end the session. You can say, "Perhaps you don't mean any harm, but I'm not comfortable working with you any more. I'll wait outside while you get dressed." If a client is physically stimulating himself, then certainly, you'd want to tell him to get dressed and get out. You would then leave the room and find someone to wait with you until he is gone. As for receiving payment, some massage therapists are so grateful when such clients leave that they don't ask for payment. (Others get payment at the start of a session.) Technically, clients may owe the fee for a massage or half a massage, but it's up to you whether to make an issue of it. Perhaps the day will come when the idea of massage will carry only its many health benefits and the boost it gives to both physical and emotional well-being. Until that time, clear communication in all stages of our contacts with clients can help educate those who need it and protect us from misunderstandings. 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 (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2005). 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