The Massage Pundit

I was fortunate enough yesterday to host Nina McIntosh, author of The Educated Heart, at my continuing ed facility for a class on ethics.  The Educated Heart was the first ethics book specifically written for those in our profession.  It came out in 1999, went through 8 printings, and in 2005 LWW acquired it and published the second edition.  

Nina is one of the grandmothers of massage.  After starting a career in psychiatric social work, she became a massage therapist in 1978 and later became a Rolfer, maintaining a practice for almost 30 years.  Her years of practicing bodywork have given her a wellspring of knowledge and experience to draw on that certainly benefitted everyone in the class.  One of the focuses of Nina’s class was boundaries–not the client’s boundaries, but our own.  We did some great role-playing that was not only enlightening, but fun, too. 

The class was a mixture of brand-new therapists attending their first continuing ed class, a school owner, and people who have been practicing for years.  We all got something new out of it.  One of the role-playing exercises was in dealing with difficult clients in a manner that was wishy-washy, then being judgmental, and then finally, acting like the professionals we are supposed to be.  I found out I’m not very good at being wishy-washy, but I’m pretty good at being judgmental!  Since that’s not a quality I want to maintain, it was definitely a useful exercise. 

We’re all faced with clients from time to time who want us to be more than we are.  We’re here to be massage therapists and bodyworkers.  We’re not here to be anyone’s savior, or to take on anyone’s personal issues, and yet, it’s easy to get caught up in that.  We sometimes get those clients who seem to be emotionally “needy”, and due to the personal nature of our therapeutic relationship with them, they choose us to be their lifeline.  You know the ones I mean; when they’ve left it feels like they sucked the oxygen out of the room and took it with them, leaving us feeling drained in their wake.

The newbies in the class both had the same comment about this type of client; they’re just starting out as massage therapists, still trying to build a clientele, and not exactly comfortable with the idea of dismissing a client who hasn’t really committed a tangible offense like doing something sexual.  But now they also recognize that at the beginning of their careers is the time to learn the tools for dealing with such clients, rather than waiting until they have a roster full of people who are trying to suck them dry.

Whether you’re just starting out, or an old hand, so to speak, Nina’s book is a great resource.  And if you ever get the opportunity to take a class from this great lady, don’t pass it up.  You can visit her website at www.educatedheart.com

Peace & Prosperity,

Laura Allen