Several precautionary measures can help massage therapists to maintain a comfortable and professional environment. Massage therapists should avoid meeting new clients at unknown locations, at hotels, or in the client’s home, where personal safety may be at greater risk. If therapists meet a client on-site, they should set up the massage table in a neutral location rather than a bedroom. Therapists can encourage relaxation through the client’s visual, auditory, and olfactory senses but should keep the look and smell of the environment subdued and professional, avoiding creation of an overly perfumed, romantic, or sensual atmosphere. Therapists should also remember that a client may be allergic to certain odors, have strong negative reactions to certain smells, or associate a given odor with an unpleasant memory or incident. Music should also be soothing, subtle, and played only after therapists have asked the client about a preference for music or silence during the massage (Fritz & Fritz, 2020). ● Contraindications : Treating a client while sick or infectious; ignoring signs of conditions that preclude physical contact. ● Informed consent : Working on a minor without parental knowledge; treating someone’s injury without permission. ● Practicing beyond scope of practice : Doing spinal adjustments, massage, or counseling without appropriate training. ● Sexual misconduct : Watching a client undress or hugging a client in a sexual way. Harassment Harassment is a specific kind of misconduct or boundary violation in which an individual of equal or greater authority is inappropriately familiar with a coworker or junior employee. Harassment can manifest itself in abusive remarks or behavior, belittling statements and actions, and discussion or commentary of an overly personal or offensive nature. Sexual harassment is abuse of power, often exercised within the context of employment, containing a sexual or gender-specific component (U.S. EEOC, n.d.). The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission defines sexual harassment as any unwelcome advance, request, verbal statement, or physical conduct of a sexual nature, including visual displays, in which any of the following occurred (U.S. EEOC, n.d.). The therapist was: ● Repeatedly asked out on a date by a manager, co- worker, or client after the invitation was initially declined. ● Propositioned to have sex with a manager, coworker, or client. ● Propositioned to have sex with a manager, coworker, or client as a condition of employment or in order to receive promotions or other awards. ● Continually touched on the body by a manager, coworker, or client after they were asked not to. ● Touched on or near the genitals, buttocks, or breasts by a manager, coworker, or client. ● Instructed to massage a manager, coworker, or client that the massage therapist has declined to provide therapy for (due to sexual harassment) as a condition of employment or in order to receive promotions or other awards. ● Instructed to massage a manager, coworker, or client in a specific manner so as to elicit a sexual response. ● Harassed, intimidated, or offended by the ongoing sexually explicit language of their managers, coworkers, or clients (language that either references the massage
should never allow the client to dress or undress in their presence. Before they begin, therapists should inform the client of what areas they will focus on and ask permission to proceed. Therapists should expose and work on only one area of the body at a time and cover the exposed part before moving on to another area (Fritz & Fritz, 2020). Massage therapists should avoid ambiguity or the appearance of impropriety in their words and manner. For instance, therapists should dress appropriately in a professional manner, avoiding any outfit that could be construed as revealing or provocative. The therapist’s demeanor should approximate that of other professional healthcare personnel. In addition, massage therapists should use appropriate language and avoid cursing or indelicate comments. When referring to physical conditions or parts of the body, therapists should use appropriate medical terminology. Therapists should never discuss sexual topics with or in front of the client, joke about sexual matters, make sexual remarks or jokes, or use sexual innuendo (Fritz & Fritz, 2020). Misconduct Misconduct has been a persistent and troubling issue in healthcare and medical professions since the early days of modern medicine. In recent years, accusations of misconduct in the healthcare and personal service industries have become increasingly common, due in part to formal regulation of the complaint process and greater awareness of the issue among the general public (NCBTMB, 2017). Misconduct takes many different forms that vary considerably in type and degree of severity. The following examples of misconduct demonstrate the need for ethical vigilance in every aspect of business practice, from organizational matters, to billing, to social interactions. Even in cases where inappropriate behaviors are the unintended result of thoughtlessness, errors in judgment, or improper planning, they risk potentially serious repercussions for the client and heavy penalties for the practitioner. Victims may face emotional and physical scarring with lifelong implications, and allegations of misconduct—even false ones—wreak havoc with practitioners’ lives and livelihoods. Misconduct takes many forms. The following list provides some examples of each type of misconduct: ● Misrepresentation of educational status : Identifying oneself as a craniosacral therapist after taking a two-hour course. ● Substance abuse : Practicing under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or any illegal substances (with the exception of prescribed dosage of prescription medication that does not significantly impair the practitioner). ● Financial impropriety : Charging a cash-paying client a different fee than a client paying with a credit card. ● Exploiting the power differential : Asking a stockbroker for financial tips during a treatment. ● Misleading claims of curative abilities : Guaranteeing a client that their pain will be gone in two sessions. ● Accessibility : Refusing to adapt the office (or making some reasonable accommodation) for those with physical challenges. ● Bigotry : Refusing to work with someone due to race, religion, size, or sexual orientation. ● Inappropriate advertising : Using a provocative picture in advertising; presenting misleading qualifications. ● Dual relationships : Dating a client. ● Violation of laws : Practicing out of one’s home when it is not permitted by law. ● Confidentiality : Name-dropping famous clients; telling a spouse details about their partner’s session.
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Book Code: MFL1227
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