Massage Ethics Classes are often a required part of massage licensing renewal. They are also a part of renewing your National Certification through the NCBTMB if you are required to have that.
Ethics classes used to seem like the most boring part of being a massage therapist but studying ethics now seems like the only thing we should have to do as a massage therapist. The techniques don’t really matter much if you don’t have clear boundaries and relationships with clients.
Ethics is just about relationships. Relationships are the core of building a successful massage business or being successful in your massage job. Studying ethics will help you if you are male and in this female dominated profession helping you to understand your role. Women can benefit from studying ethics to help them deal with the many challenges of working on men (yes the dreaded E!) .
Ethics is just the process of uncovering your values and learning about relationships and how your work as a massage therapist can influence those relationships. The clients that fall in love with you and want to marry you, the people who want to always get a discount or will hate it when you raise your rates.
People who are under stress and in pain and are half naked underneath a sheet are vulnerable. As a massage therapist it is your responsibility to understand your role and understand where they are coming from or at least be able to not interfere in their lives. I remember Oprah saying once on TV that she just wished massage therapists would shut up!
Ethics requires rational thought about what it is that you are doing or what is happening in your massage world. Many may first think that they know what to do when a client asks them out on a date and may think there is no harm in dating clients or even just being friends with clients. Educating massage therapists as to what happens in the therapeutic relationship can help them make more informed decisions about their actions.
It isn’t about being right or wrong. It is about making a decision that supports you and your massage business. There is also a legal side to being a massage therapist and working within your scope of practice. What is legal is not always ethical and what is ethical is not always legal. Ethics is about striving to be the best you can be and about treating people decently and respectfully.
Taking massage ethics classes is the most important thing you can do for yourself and the massage profession.
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