In the introduction to this digital textbook, we meet Cheryl, an imaginary massage colleague. We learn that Cheryl is a truly kind and caring person. She looks out for everyone and is attuned to people’s emotions. When people are feeling down, Cheryl is the first to check in, give a hug, and ask how she can help out.

We also learn that Cheryl is flirtatious with clients. She calls them by nicknames like “Romeo” and “Cowgirl,” hugs every client when she first meets them, and doesn’t seem to notice that some clients feel embarrassed and taken aback by her affection. She puts her arm around clients as she guides them to the session room and sometimes touches their hair or clothing unnecessarily. Watching Cheryl interact with clients makes her massage colleagues slightly uncomfortable.

Should someone speak up? Is this an ethical issue or is Cheryl just a loving and affectionate person? Is Cheryl placing clients, colleagues or the reputation of the massage profession at risk?

In this digital textbook we’ll discuss massage ethics in-depth through countless client-therapist scenarios and complex ethical dilemmas.  We’ll learn that professional ethics are the moral rules adopted by a profession to assist members in understanding the difference between right and wrong. Professional ethics aim to prevent the exploitation of clients, protect the individuals who make up the profession, and preserve the integrity and reputation of the profession itself.

Together we’ll come to understand our personal values and ethics and how they influence our professional attitudes and behaviors. We’ll take a deep dive into the ten ethical commitments we make as massage therapists to the massage profession. With explicit language, we’ll come to know the standard of practice and recognize behaviors that are ethical and unethical. We’ll learn knowledge and skills to heighten our moral sensitivity and use widely-accepted ethical decision-making models to determine how to take action is challenging situations.

Through painstaking research and applied humanistic instructional design, this modern ethics textbook takes a fresh approach to massage ethics. Lessons include extensive use of video presentations, client-therapist scenarios, and activities adapted from emotional and social intelligence-building curriculum.

TEXTBOOK INTRODUCTION AND ORIENTATION 

LESSON 01: CORE CONCEPTS IN ETHICS

• Introduction, Learning Objectives, and Terminology
• What is Ethics?
• A Brief History of Ethics
• Human Rights and Ethics
• Massage Values and Ethics
• Factors that Influence Ethics
• Personal Verses Professional Ethics
• Let’s Talk Ethics
• Apply It!
• Quiz

LESSON 02: GET TO KNOW YOUR PERSONAL ETHICS

• Introduction, Learning Objectives, and Terminology
• Your Values and Ethics
• Your Character and Ethics
• Your Beliefs and Ethics
• Your Needs, Wants, Expectations, and Ethics
• Your Self-Awareness and Ethics
• Your Personal Code of Ethics
• Let’s Talk Ethics
• Apply It!
• Quiz

 LESSON 3: THE MASSAGE THERAPY CODE OF ETHICS

• Introduction, Learning Objectives, and Terminology
• Commitment to Value All People
• Commitment to Do No Harm
• Commitment to Healthy Therapeutic Relationships
• Commitment to Respect Client Rights
• Commitment to Client Informed Consent
• Commitment to Client Confidentiality
• Commitment to High Quality Care
• Commitment to Honest Representation
• Commitment to Business Integrity
• Commitment to Professional Development
• The Complete Code of Ethics
• Let’s Talk Ethics
• Apply It!
• Quiz

LESSON 4: WORKING THROUGH ETHICAL DILEMMAS

• Introduction, Learning Objectives, and Terminology
• When Good Massage Therapists Behave Unethically
• Sources of Ethical Guidance
• Rest’s Model for Moral Action
• Kidder’s Three Principles and Ethical Checkpoints
• Professional Censure and Sanctions
• What is Happening in These Scenarios?
• Let’s Talk Ethics
• Apply It!
• Quiz

 LESSON 5: MASSAGE LAWS AND REGULATIONS

• Introduction, Learning Objectives, and Terminology
• Types of Massage Credentials
• Required Education
• Obtaining Massage Credentials
• The Massage Scope of Practice
• Continuing Education
• Managing Your Massage Credentials
• Let’s Talk Ethics
• Apply It!
• Quiz

 FINAL EXAMINATION

• Lesson & Topic Structure: The thoughtful instructional design of this textbook organizes contents into carefully sequenced learning chunks. Participants can finish topics in short study sessions (average 20 minutes). This sense of making regular progress improves learning motivation.
• Text Translation: So long as you use Chrome as your browser, participants with English as a second language can instantly translate the text into your native language so that you never miss a concept.
• Visually Appealing: Concepts come alive with striking imagery and appealing graphic design. Printed textbooks are limited by page number and keep visuals to a minimum. In the digital world, more is more when it comes to visual aids.
• Video Content: Video content covers the key concepts in the text using vivid images, graphic elements, voice-over, and strong instructional design.
• Listen Along Audio: The listen-along feature is included with topics that don’t feature a video presentation. You can listen to these topics while you commute, exercise, or relax.
• Standard Textbook Features: Standard textbook features like introductions, learning objectives, summaries, references, and resources get a digital upgrade with subtle animations and click-to-view options that invite learners to engage with content they might otherwise skip over.
• Research Informed: Each textbook is written by massage professionals and carefully researched for accuracy and relevance. We make regular updates to content and can address content issues immediately (something printed textbooks can’t do).
• Easy Navigation: Clever web navigation puts an entire textbook a click away and provides an ongoing outline to help students mentally frame the content they are learning.
• Check It Off Progress: Oh, the motivating power of a checkmark! You’ll get a dose of satisfaction when you mark topics and lessons complete and see the progress bar advance.
• Learning Games: Learning games are fun and strengthen concept comprehension, memory recall, and critical-thinking skills. Games give instance feedback so we never reinforce incorrect information.
• Let’s Talk Interviews: Video interviews with massage professionals connect use to unique voices and our massage community. We’ll hear about ethics in action from a variety of informed massage professionals.
• Downloadable Resources: Downloads for this textbook include three different ethical decision-making forms, and the complete code of ethics for the massage profession.
• Take Notes App: You can take notes, organize, save, and print notes from this handy app within the textbook.
• Quizzes: Each lesson concludes with a 10-question, multiple-choice quiz from a test bank of 20 questions. Quizzes give instant feedback so that you never reinforce incorrect information.
• Story & Scenario: The regular use of stories and client-therapist scenarios place important concepts in a real-world context and improve critical thinking skills. We’ll apply ethical decision-making models to five final scenarios and receive instant feedback on our ethical choices.
• Interactive Content: The textbooks at Massage Mastery Online take advantage of design-forward web animations that increase student attention, learning, and engagement.
• On-The-Go Learning: Learning must fit into the margins of adult lives to be practical. This content is designed for on-the-go learning using a computer, tablet, or phone.
• Environmentally Friendly: No trees were harmed in the making of this textbook! Improve student learning outcomes and reduce your carbon footprint at the same time.
• Final Textbook Examination: This final exam is composed of 30 multiple-choice questions from a 60-question test bank. Please note that there is no CE attached to this textbook examination. See course options related to this textbook for CE.