MM Chapter 07: The Therapeutic Relationship

When emotional release occurs during a massage session, therapists must manage two processes. First, the therapist must manage their response to the client’s emotional expression while maintaining appropriate boundaries; second, they must manage the process of maintaining a safe, supportive atmosphere for the client. Self-Management During a Client’s Emotional Release While the factors related to […]

Emotional release in the practice of massage is defined as the sudden or gradual rise of feeling in the client and the expression of that feeling before, during, or after the massage session. Clients might experience various emotions during a session, and the stories shared here are meant to serve as examples and not represent

Robert Plutchik, a well-known researcher, based at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, is considered an authority on emotion. He notes that more than 90 definitions of emotion have been proposed during the 20th century and that “emotion is one of the most confused (and still open) chapters in the history of psychology.”40 When looking

We know from the previous section that massage embraces the view that the mind and body are closely connected and reflect each other. What happens in the mind causes changes in the body. What happens in the body causes changes in the mind.  Each client comes to a massage session with a bodymind history made

Massage embraces the philosophy that the interconnected workings of a person’s body, mind, and spirit, and the ways in which they mirror and influence each other, demonstrate an inseparable bodymind connection. Science is also shifting to a philosophy of a connected bodymind because of research evidence. In fact, the bodymind connection was first “officially” recognized

The bodymind split is the view that the body and mind are separate and that one does not directly reflect the other. With this unconscious philosophical attitude, people suppress the urges and impulses of the body forcefully to elevate the mind. It’s not difficult to see how this split occurred when we consider that the

Massage therapists constantly deal with ethical and professional issues that often stem from complex psychological causes. In addition, massage can often feel like a lonely profession where the only contact a therapist has during the course of a day is with clients. The need to uphold the therapeutic relationship does not allow for the development

A dual relationship is defined as a situation in which more than one relationship with a client is present. In dual relationships, the therapeutic relationship is compromised by a secondary relationship that stretches beyond the massage session. Anytime you provide massage to a friend, family member, business associate, love interest, teacher, or employer, a dual

Professional boundaries form the foundation of the therapeutic relationship and are communicated to clients during the initial intake interview as part of the informed consent procedure. Some boundaries are communicated through subtle signals that establish the professionalism of the business on a nonverbal level. Location and environment: Clients are more likely to respect the boundaries

First, take a moment to imagine the kinds of boundary modifications a client must make to come for a first session. This may compare to the discomfort you likely felt the first time you had to disrobe in the classroom and allow another student to apply massage techniques. Clients enter a new environment, which may