massage and bodywork professionals
a community of practitioners
A question on what may be inappropriate behavior from an MT
A female acquaintance recently went to a male therapist for treatment. When she turned onto her stomach he turned the room light on. When she asked him why, he said it was so he could better see what he was doing. I have no good answer for why he would need to see better what he is doing. Anyone have a good reason?
Views: 468
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Rajam K Roose on
-
There may be nothing out of the ordinary there. I also need enough light not only to see what I'm doing but also to check the reactions of the tissues of the client's body. I do use an eye pillow so that I can have enough light to work.
Maybe she can call the male therapist and ask him about it. If that's the case, suggest he use an eye pillow as to not make his female clients uncomfortable.
-
Permalink Reply by Deb Evans on
-
thanks, I'll pass it on. I'll recommend that she communicate her concerns to him, if he cannot or will not discuss his reasons further, then perhaps she needs to see a different therapist-- at the very least, he is ignoring her need for reassurance/clarification regarding his actions and explanations.
Rajam K Roose said:There may be nothing out of the ordinary there. I also need enough light not only to see what I'm doing but also to check the reactions of the tissues of the client's body. I do use an eye pillow so that I can have enough light to work.
Maybe she can call the male therapist and ask him about it. If that's the case, suggest he use an eye pillow as to not make his female clients uncomfortable.
-
-
Just re-read my post and realized it didn't explain clearly that I think he turned the light on after she rolled over b/c he didn't want the brightness to bother her eyes while she was face up. Deb, I'm sure you understood that but I wanted to add it in, in case another reader might be confused!
-
Permalink Reply by Choice Kinchen on
-
I agree with both Rajam and Ty. I just wonder if the concern would have been there if the therapist had been a female.
-
Permalink Reply by Travis Alligood on
-
If I was referee I would throw a flag, and penalize at least 15 yards, Shoot thats a good question. Was the session good enough to return ? Im curious, what was the outcome? I was watching House last week when Dr. Cutty was recieveing a massage and the therapist was working glutes when Cutty said stop this session, and TV went to commercial break. I do love the show House but while the therapist was setting up they did not show interview on wether he explained the session she was recieveing and he did not explain glute work. My point being if he was going to turn the light on, he should have said that he was going to in interview. Personally I would would be more afraid of 1 LOSING MY CLIENT 2.TURNED INTO BOARD,
and this may sound the least of my worries but losing the setting of our session. I wear glasses but I do not need them to set my intention, and if I remove them this does not change my intention. I also start my session in a room that has enough light for my client to relax, but I also can see if there may something a Dr. should also look at therefore I recommend that they see one. NOW after all this I would like to share an experience for you that almost made my heart stop and this is when I added a few more candles to my Sacred Space, the power went off at the YMCA due to High Heat conditions this summer, so I was standing there in the dark, Giving a massage when I had to explain to my client to stay calm while I solve my problem. Very calmly pulled out my cell phone (using the light from phone) went to my cabinet and lit more candles. I had only 1 candle lit at the time. My client was very appreciative of how calmly I handled the situation and she is a regular, Needless to say I have invested in lots more candles so that I will not find myself there again, so I will be watching this thread to see outcome. Peace Travis
-
-
not sure if same concern if a female therapist. My gut is probably not. I, too have given massage when the lights went out-- on 2 separate occasions, 2 separate locations. One session was actually a practical final at massage school, and I, too, was complimented on how calmly I handled it (I completed the massage on my female client by the light of the emergency exit sign, of all things!) The second was for a job interview, and we had candles; again, completed the last 5 min of massage (male client this time) and was offered the position. I now keep an emergency flashlight in my office!
As for why he needed to turn the light on, no idea. Again, perhaps totally innocent, but the client was left feeling that it was an odd situation, and the communication was definitely lacking, leaving the client confused and wondering, and not in a good way.
I welcome my client's questions, and try to make sure they feel that the answer was complete and that they have been listened to as fully as possible. I feel that this is part of my role as a health educator, and that it can only serve to improve my practice. Perhaps others do not feel the same way!
-
-
I agree that this does not seem like correct procedure. If the therapist needed to see better, then why wasn't the light on while the client was prone on the table? We should always inform the client of our actions in advance. If I thought I saw something that needed further investigation (a discoloured mole for example) I would tell the client that I needed to look at something and warn her that I wanted to turn the light up for a minute. I would give her something to cover the eyes. I would observe what I needed to, and then dim the light.
It is all about informed consent - telling the client what we plan to do and why, and getting the client's agreement.
Of course it is totally up to the client if she wants to see this therapist again. If the massage was otherwise very good, she might want to make an appointment, but discuss this concern before she gets on the table.
-
Permalink Reply by Lisa on
-
I think if she had a concern, then her instincts told her something was amiss. However, I don't think it necessarily means his intentions were amiss. but it DOES mean that not every therapist is meant for every client and vice versa.
-
-
I mentione in another thread on a different topic something that is needed here.
Communications - Communications - Communications!
Maybe you don't do it during the session as some clients won't want to converse but if not during the massage then definately before and after the therapist need to make STRONG efforts to see that they know their clients and make sure their clients know them. MT is clinical work but it is definately not a clinical relationship with the client. It's not 5 -15 minutes in a brightly lit room. Instead it's 60-90 minutes of really personal contact. You have to ask alot and tell alot! If you connect with your client personally they won't ever doubt anything you do and they will just simply ask immediately if they do because they are to communicating with you.
Lisa said:I think if she had a concern, then her instincts told her something was amiss. However, I don't think it necessarily means his intentions were amiss. but it DOES mean that not every therapist is meant for every client and vice versa.
-
Permalink Reply by Steve "Bear" Owen on
-
Sounds to me like he was wanting to see what he was working on, rather than what he was doing.
-
Permalink Reply by Lee Edelberg on
-
She went from supine to prone? She asked and he answered. Why the analysis?
If she wasn't satisfied with his answer, she could ask for more info.
Without knowing how much light there was in the room and how much MORE light there was when he hit the switch, it's all just speculation.
© 2024 Created by ABMP.
Powered by
