I have always said that in this profession I learn something new every day. Whether that's how to have a tough conversation with clients, how to be compassionate, or how to refrain from giving them advice.
Massage therapists can fit perfectly into the emerging paradigm—community-based, collaborative care is the future we will be working in. This is the future of health care, even if massage therapists do nothing.
For many therapists, The Money Pit movie is a good analogy for our relationship with money in our massage practice.
Every therapist I know sincerely wants to help their clients feel better, whether the treatment is geared toward relaxation or a specific injury or pain. Unfortunately, in my work as an expert witness, I have seen many cases of well-meaning therapists who have injured their clients. Here's how to prevent that.
Many times, mistakes on our part, such as sloppy draping, are made due to carelessness, without any conscious intent to do something unprofessional. Clients who don't know us well may not know the difference between carelessness and intention.
Practitioners have to think critically about when and how to share what we know and must resist the temptation to guess.
Massage therapists aren't supposed to diagnose. There is some variety from state to state, but for the most part, we are allowed to "assess" but not to "diagnose."
Enforcing boundaries protects our income and mental health, but sometimes circumstances call for bending boundaries.
