Tagged: prude

Client Empowerment – Ask Those Questions!

Posted by on in Massage Therapy, Mind/Body 0 comment

This blog post is in response to a story that aired earlier this year on our local TV Station about a female client that was assaulted during a massage session in a Student Clinic at a local Massage School.

As a Therapist, you want your client be as comfortable as possible on the table, so the client gets the most effective massage possible. New clients who have never had a massage before aren’t the most comfortable, for good reason:

  1. They’ve never experienced it;
  2. They don’t have any idea what’s going to happen, or;
  3. They’ve heard horror stories about bad massage
    sessions, and expect that to happen to them.

Massage Therapy Clients, I want to empower you to ask questions. You should know what to expect so that you are comfortable with your therapy session. Many people just want to get to the session and not talk. If you’re not sure as to what I’m doing, ask me why!  I’ll be more than happy to explain why I’m working on you in the manner that I am, so that you understand why I’m there.

My main concern is that there are certain parts of the session where you are asking yourself, “Why are they doing that? That may be a part of the session. I don’t want to ask; they may think that I’m a prude.”

I have said this before — I don’t charge for questions, so feel free to ask questions when you need clarification about a particular treatment you are undergoing.

If you are feeling that the therapist is talking too much, or you feel that you may need to stop, say something, anything, so that you can understand what’s going on.

I strive to get you as comfortable as possible during the session so that you are able to relax, and have the best massage possible.

What questions do you have about massage? I’d LOVE to know!

8 Secrets Revealed

Posted by on in Massage Therapy 7 comments

This is a blog post in response to Sarah Carrillo’s article on www.TotalBeauty.com about “8 Things
Your Masseuse Doesn’t Want You to Know”.

As a Massage Therapist,
and not a Masseuse, I think I may have some feedback on this article.

On Secret #1 – “We think you’re a prude if you wear undies” – I have NO opinion if you wear your underwear or not. If you feel that you need to wear your underwear for whatever reason, it is up to YOU, the client. I need you to feel comfortable enough in your surroundings that you are able to relax. If that means that you have to wear your underwear, it’s all good with me. Now, if you are wearing scuba gear as underwear, we’ll have to work that out.

On Secret #2 – “We have dirty thoughts” – I’m not going to lie, I’ve
had some very handsome clients in my career, some downright gorgeous. If I am going to give you a good massage, the thoughts cannot even begin to enter into the session; it’s a breach of trust. You, as the client are on my table to get stress relief, knots worked on, etc. If I am really going to have a problem with this, you would be referred to a therapist that I know and trust to do good work. I like my job too much to get my license yanked over foolishness.

On Secret #3 – “We get scared if you start snoring” Here is my
belief on sleep and massage – You falling asleep on my table or chair
constitutes one of two things:

A)    You are allowing yourself to let me take care of your sore, stressed and tired self that you fall asleep.

B)    You are too tired to care.

I have had clients fall asleep and drool on my table. It doesn’t bother me at all. What bothers me is if you STOP breathing, not if you snore.

On Secret #4 – “We give you a crappy massage if you show up wasted” – If you show up wasted, I WILL NOT EVEN GIVE YOU A MASSAGE. First of all, Client Intoxication is CONTRAINDICATED, meaning it should NOT be performed. Massage contributes to an increase of the absorption of the toxins in the alcohol, making you a little more intoxicated than if you hadn’t had the massage. Inhibitions are lowered, and inappropriate behavior can occur.  If you, as my client are tipsy, I’m not working on you, period – I’m kinda a stickler for that. I don’t need to have inebriated clients on the table being more intoxicated after a massage than before we started. Second of all, I could still charge you for the session. It’s never a good idea to have ‘a few drinks’ before a massage, before you get behind the wheel, etc.

On Secret #5 – “We want to throw your phone in a vat of massage oil”-  Distractions will detract from your overall massage session and yes, your ringtone may be loud and annoying, but throwing your phone in a vat of oil? Not necessarily. I will ask you to either turn it off, or put it on ‘Vibrate’, and will remind you to put it back on after the session is over. If it’s still on, and it rings, it detracts from your overall massage session.

On Secret #6 – “We think you smell” – I have had some rather odiferous clients. You’re coming in from running, work, or the sweltering Atlanta heat. Most clients that feel that they smell tend to want to take a shower on their own, or shower before they show to the session, no cues from me. If worse comes to worst, there are things that we can do to alleviate the issue, and not bring attention to a rather awkward situation. Again, it’s helping the client be comfortable in the environment that is the most important thing, as far as I am concerned.

On Secret #7 – “Our licenses mean jack” – I agree, in many cases, having a license does NOT equal getting a great massage. I take having my license seriously, otherwise I wouldn’t have gone to school, and been doing massage for as long as I have. States have varying levels of licensure, and some don’t have any regulations at all. If you want to get a great massage, ask YOUR
friends who get massages. If you don’t have any friends who get massages, you
can go to many of the Massage Regulating bodies, ABMP, AMTA, ISPA, etc. You can also go to your local massage school, during clinic hours, to get a regulatedand supervised massage session. These students are looking for a few good people that want to be worked on!

On Secret #8 – “We make fun of you after you leave” – There have
been some FUNNY incidences that have happened during a massage session, I can’t lie about that. Can I say that I haven’t shared a story or two? Nope. But what I can say is this – to be just plain catty about a client because the service didn’t live up to expectations (or just to contribute to the level of gossip in a conversation) is wrong, and in some cases, they are still in the building – THE CLIENTS CAN HEAR YOU. It’s just not good practice, and if I do have to share, I don’t do so by name – that’s against HIPAA rules of privacy.

Now I am sure that you will have feedback on this, and I look forward to
hearing them all. I am not speaking on behalf all Massage Therapists; I just
felt that this article needed more than this skewed and salacious point of
view.