There is alot of controversy around selling products such as essential oils, lotions and other massage or health related goods to people who have just gotten a massage.

While you may feel a need to supplement your income by selling these products, there also is another side to what is really happening in the therapeutic relationship (read more on the therapeutic relationship) that happens with a client. Clients often are in a state of transference- meaning they are projecting feelings they may be having toward us - they may feel indebted to us when they think that we have been able to relieve their pain and make them feel better.

In other words if you ask them to buy something in addition to their massage, they may be wanting to make the purchase only to please you as they see you as someone who cares and has helped them.

Is selling products to someone who is in this state ethically responsible?

Is even asking them if they want to schedule another massage ethically responsible?

The thing is that transference happens in every relationship. It is not that it is wrong, it is in how you deal with such situations.

Selling products also create a dual relationship with the client. You then become the retailer and not their therapist in that moment. Dual relationships alway require extra care in handling them.

What if the client buys something and gets an allergic reaction or something?

What if they get home and realize that they don’t really want to be using that product or taking that supplement so they avoid making another appointment so they don’t have to deal with their feelings around it.

While there is no right or wrong, it is important to be aware of what is really going on in a therapeutic relationship. And even if there isn’t any transference going on at the moment, the fact that people can be so relaxed and have their guard down that they buy things without really wanting them.

What products do you sell?

What situations have arisen because of your selling products to clients?

This entry was posted on Monday, August 14th, 2006 at 11:51 am and is filed under Building Your Practice, Peer Supervision, Recommended Reading, The Code of the Caretaker, The Wealthy Massage Therapist. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.