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Draping versus No Draping
With that said, I believe TX's current regulations states: draping will be used during the session, unless otherwise agreed to by both the client and the licensee
I read this to say that draping is NOT a state requirement but a client-therapist consideration. This may explain why I get a lot of requests for non draping sessions.
Just yesterday I got a request from someone looking for a professional massage but states that he does not like draping. He also offered to pay more if I would allow this.
My first instinct with all these clients is that no draping request = wanting something extra than a professional massage. However the state regulations says contrary.
So am I foolish for turning down a session because of this? I know I must follow my intuition, so I have already written him a note thanking him for the interest but letting him know that it would make me too uncomfortable. I explained that this was not how I was taught or how I practice, and therefore doing such a session would not be giving him the best I could give.
But I am curious as to other's thoughts and practices with regards to draping. Do you get a lot of requests to exclude it? What are your state's regulations? Have you ever worked on someone who wasn't draped?
Let the dialog begin...
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Rob E on
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Laura,
For my part in this thread I don't tie the draping question to religion or to morals. I tie it to culture. The North American culture is more conservative along these lines but it does not mean that it is an absolute culture.
I feel your comments are very representative of our culture. I think you are in the majority. You have confirmed by stressing how much you don’t want to see anyone nude. You very much dislike it. I happen to think you shouldn’t have to. I don’t want you doing something you don’t like. Moreover, I would not want to be undraped if I were a client because I am aware of how much you dislike it and I would not like making you uncomfortable. By proxy I would not be comfortable with it.
I am simply suggesting that this thread is not really about massage technique. Those who advocate draping generally cite the level of patient comfort, climate control, and establishing trust with the client. Those who advocate allowing massage without a drape will cite the level of patient comfort, climate control, and establishing trust with the client. Both sides make the exact same arguments and I think both are right because people are different.
However, I would submit that there is no difference in the massage whether the client is draped or not. The stroke length would not change (I don’t buy the arguments about drapes getting in the way as we’re all too used to them), the pressure would not change, the modality would not change and no more or less of the body would be massaged. There is no reason for or against draping that impacts the delivery of the massage save that it can be used to control climate. Climate isn’t the real issue either. The only thing that is different is what happens in the mind and eye of the client and the MT.
This topic has around 100 posts. It is by far one of the most read, followed, and participated in topics in the entire forum. Most forum topics get less than 20 posts. When the posts do come they are usually pretty passionate for one view or the other because the topic is not about massage technique but rather it’s about emotion and values. This intense participation makes me think that it is being consistently asked for by some clients who are still in the minority and more frequently provided by therapists than MT’s are acknowledging.
I don’t think it matter where your opinion lies but thinking about what is definitely happening and about why it is happening is worthwhile for all of us.
Laura K Dylla said:I have not replied to any posts but find that I must point out an obvious conclusion that I could see based on reading many of the for or against draping agenda.
I find it repugnant that having a Draping always preference should be equated with moralism or religion...VS those against draping or who have practiced no draping as preferenced by clients. It seems kinda preachy that the PRO DRAPING moralize their opinion and interject their feelings and or bias in such a way that it sounds like moralizing of the first degree.
Whether we give massage with draping or not...it seems totally out of context to moralize also about whether we demonize the male body and glorify the female. Then to interject personal opinions even though preference for DRAPING may be based on religious upbringing. Whether they are based on a religious upbringing or not, I PERSONALLY PREFER NOT TO SEE A NUDE MALE OR FEMALE BODY, period. So my practice and business requires full draping...and if anyone wants to assume that I do that because I attend church, you are sadly mistaken.
Frankly the human body is beautiful in all its stages of development from birth to old age and death. As a country we obviously have only glorified the sexually beautiful and have left the other stages out of the picture based on media hype that sells ads or cosmetic enhancements which keep a human body artificially beautiful.
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Permalink Reply by Dan Brownell on
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Tennessee requires that draping be provided for the client this can be sheets, towels or any form of material you choose. That's it, nothing more is said. I had a debate about doing an undraped massage with a lawyer. He said the law states you as a therapist must provide draping, it does not say I as a client must use the draping that was provided. I thought about his statement long and hard. I trade with another therapist who allows undraped massage, and she asked how I felt about it. I really don't see anything wrong with it. I have received and given massages undraped, and I think it's great for both the client and therapist. The massage flows in such a different and better way when you don't have the drape being fooled with. I am very good with my draping techniques, they are seamless, but the undraped massages do flow much better. Personally, the question of draping or no draping is never brought up by me. I do offer a towel as an an alternative on my web site; but when a client enters the massage room there are only sheets on the table. If a client asks me about alternative draping I explain what is or is not available, otherwise they are draped with the sheet automatically. Simply put, it's the clients choice and they have to request something other than the sheets, otherwise it's the industry standard sheets.
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I see no draping as very unprofessional. Even in a doctor/patient visit the patient wears a hospital gown. If you open yourself up to regulations that state it is between client and practitioner then other issues of ethical behavior.
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Hunter, just how is your consent form worded? If you don't mind my asking.
Hunter Bartlett said:It's a body. I find it so strange that people are so worried about looking at genitalia. To each their own.
Of course, you WILL be inviting a numerous amount of undesirables if you choose to advertise that you perform non-draped massage. That's just how it is. It is not hard to weed them out. It is YOUR right to refuse service to anyone and to terminate any massage for any reason.
In my practice, the women are the only ones who prefer to be be draped usually. I offer full draping, towel or nude. Nude is very freeing and that's how I prefer to get my massages (unless the room is cold). It is on my intake form and must be signed by both the client and the therapist. It also states that if any unwanted advances are given by the client, the session will be terminated. Nude massage is meant to be freeing without distractions not an invitation for sex.
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Permalink Reply by Tonya Brooks-Taylor on
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I practice in a state that requires draping, however, even if it were not required by law I would never do undraped massage as I see it as extremely unprofessional and asking for trouble. It gives clients the wrong idea about massage and, as a woman, I would never open myself up to being propositioned by perverts looking for something other than therapeutic massage. Over the past two years, I have had three new male clients and one long-term client request non-draping. I firmly explained that my policies and the law required I perform draped massage services. If they didn't like that would just be too darn bad - frankly, they could leave and find someone else who does that sort of thing. I really think they were all trying to see how far they could push me. My long-term client I'm not so sure - he was very embarrassed afterwards and has gone from a twice a month to a periodic client. Regardless, I have standards to uphold for both myself and my practice and I am sorry but no client will ever force me to lower them! My policies about draping and other issues are pretty conservative (as I believe they should be) and are posted on my website, on my online booking system, and on the intake form that they all must sign prior to receiving work. I always inform clients up front that proper draping will always be practiced and that I only undrape the area that I am working on -- since genitalia are not on the list of areas I massage why would they need to be uncovered?
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Permalink Reply by Daniel Cohen on
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Can you provide the paragraph in the law that requires draping? I couldn't find it online. Your state has a very interesting massage law. It allows anyone to do sports massage without pay at events under the supervision of a licensed massage therapist. It also does not apply to energywork which also involves touching the body or Asian bodywork. It appears I could work without getting a license. How does that affect competition from Asian bodywork like shiatsu and Thai or Tuina in your state?
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Tonya, if you are willing I want to ask you to expand on your thoughts. I’m genuinely interested in understanding the root of your values. I think they are important and valid. For that matter, I am interested in the mindset of any female MT. Even further, if men feel this comes into play for them please jump in.
Before I ask, let me say I support you and think you are correct for sticking to your standards. You should not be uncomfortable and your client should never be uncomfortable either. I support you 100%. That said, I wonder if you would take a moment to share your feelings about a hypothesis I have.
Your remarks seem to be rooted in a concern that you don't want someone on your table using your services as a form of sexual gratification. From what you shared I am concluding you feel that A leads to B which leads to C. If the person asks for no drape then you know they will be deriving some sexual satisfaction from it, which bothers you, and you feel that the logical next step is that the undraped man will ask for some physical gratification in the next session. I can totally see how that progression could be suspected.
My hypothesis is that this whole issue is connected to human sexuality. I hypothesize that you are not wrong in recognizing the basic motivation. I might differ in my conclusion that no drape necessarily leads to sexual contact but I hypothesize that there are people on your table right now (all of our tables) that are not there for a physically therapeutic reason. They are there because they enjoy being touched and possibly because they like you touching them. I’m referring to the back, the leg, the arm, etc. I’m not referring to anything untoward. However, I do think these people are deriving a sexual satisfaction in an indirect way and you just don’t know it. If sexual satisfaction seems too much of leap because it does not include nudity or genital contact at least they view it as receiving affection from another person which really is connected to a person’s sexuality. (getting a little Freudian, sorry)
Would you support my hypothesis that you have clients who are there just because they enjoy your touch or do you not support it and feel that all of your clients are there for purely physically therapeutic reasons?
If a man’s intake form reported no physical discomfort but he made a comment in the notes field that he just wanted someone to touch him in a positive way (he does not request anything out of the ordinary) would you take that client or send him away? If a crystal ball showed you one of your totally respectful men on your table came to you just because he liked you touching him and he had no one else in his life who touches him would you feel cheapened or would you feel you are adding value to his life?
Tonya Brooks-Taylor said:
I practice in a state that requires draping, however, even if it were not required by law I would never do undraped massage as I see it as extremely unprofessional and asking for trouble. It gives clients the wrong idea about massage and, as a woman, I would never open myself up to being propositioned by perverts looking for something other than therapeutic massage. Over the past two years, I have had three new male clients and one long-term client request non-draping. I firmly explained that my policies and the law required I perform draped massage services. If they didn't like that would just be too darn bad - frankly, they could leave and find someone else who does that sort of thing. I really think they were all trying to see how far they could push me. My long-term client I'm not so sure - he was very embarrassed afterwards and has gone from a twice a month to a periodic client. Regardless, I have standards to uphold for both myself and my practice and I am sorry but no client will ever force me to lower them! My policies about draping and other issues are pretty conservative (as I believe they should be) and are posted on my website, on my online booking system, and on the intake form that they all must sign prior to receiving work. I always inform clients up front that proper draping will always be practiced and that I only undrape the area that I am working on -- since genitalia are not on the list of areas I massage why would they need to be uncovered?
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Rob, I think you are trying to bring the sexual - non sexual aspect of massage into each post and I don't know if you will find your answers on this medium. Everyone has different reasons for NOT practicing undraped or nude massage. Personally, I won't ever give a massage to an undraped person unless it is my husband. In my small town where we had to break through the stigma around massage, we would be crucified too if even a hint of that got out as people unfortunately will jump on negatives vs the positives of massage. Massage is too precious as a health care modality to start arguments about what is right or wrong or why a therapist does things they way they do.
The first person who ever really touched us in a loving, connected way was our parents, specifically our mothers. If they were secure in their own sexuality and parenthood, they provided a connected, loving and non demanding touch that infants need.
For me ( I have thought of this many times and speak of it to my clients); we as massage therapists can bring that non-demanding touch back to the client...a touch that does not demand but gives love, pain relief and comfort like our parents did or sometimes weren't capable of giving.
Yes, there is much ambiguousness about sexuality in this country. But are you going to solve these problems for the world? No and each person has to work through those issues regardless of why or what their issues may be about sexuality and or how it has been characterized in society for 100s of years.
Massage gives us a chance to let go of all stereotypes and not think...includes the therapist as well as the client...and just let whatever the situation is with them...just be. The answer for them and many times for us comes in the quiet and stillness. Be still and listen to what is not being said...
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Rob, I agree with Laura -- it seems you are trying to bring sexuality into each post. I am not sure exactly why you do this but it is quite disconcerting. I am not comfortable...period...with anyone who comes to my practice seeking anything but therapeutic touch.
As far as my having had clients on my table who may have received some sort of sexual gratification from my touch - well, that's their business. If that's what gets them their jollies - fine. As long as I'm not aware of it - because believe me they would not be coming back if I figured it out. I don't disagree that touch is comforting, of course it is! In my opinion though, I find it quite nauseating to think someone could get sexual pleasure from my therapeutic touch. I am not naive enough to think this would never happen, but I certainly do not believe it is common. I did not give up a six-figure income, pay tens of thousands of dollars on my MT program and post grad CEUs just so that someone can confuse what I do with that of a sex worker pretending to be a massage therapist. If any client of mine wants touch for sexual gratification I would actually prefer they go down the street to the local massage parlor for that sort of thing.
I am uninterested in providing anyone - besides my husband - with undraped massage, or for that matter, any type of sexual gratification! I love, value and greatly appreciate what I do (as do my clients!) because of the very many health benefits it can provide. It is (as Laura said in her post) "too precious..a health care modality to start arguments.." You are welcome and free to run your practice however you please, and if you choose to offer undraped massage then that's your choice. As for me -- I choose and will continue to run my practice by my own standards - and no amount of discussion around it will change my mind.
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Of course I am trying to bring sexuality into the discussion. It's the gorilla in the corner no one wants to acknowledge. 50 people have already made the perfunctory arguments for and against draping: temperature, boundaries, length of stroke, the law, professionalism, feeling free, whatever. It's been said already.
If you read the post in this thread in almost all of them there is a reference to perversion, or something leading to "more", or "I will with my spouse but not with others" or on the other side "it's just a body" or "not seeking anything sexual" or a million other references to sexuality.
What do you think this thread has been about? Do you really think it has been about massage? You may pretend we are not talking about our views on human sexuality and our cultural values but the very language used in the posts shows that each of our views on sexuality and how the body is connected to sexuality are at the center of the drape discussion. I don't know how anyone could miss it. The MT is asked and they say yes or no based upon their values rooted in human sexuality.
This thread has had more participation than just about any I've seen here. It seems everyone here has been asked for undraped massage whether they've allowed it or not. It does not seem a stretch to think more want it but are not brave enough to ask. Shouldn't we make some kind of effort to understand why it seems to be in growing demand? People looking for prostitution / massage know exactly where to get it and they already know you or I are not it. They know where to go so they won't have to tip toe around the issue if that's what they want. Why are people asking legitimate MT's for drapeless massage? If they are all pervs they would quit wasting their time and money and hit the Asian Sun Massage Parlor already.
If you are not interested in considering why this small trend of drapeless massage seems to be growing what value does the discussion have for you? Why did you look into this thread? You've concluded already it's not on your menu. Do you want to discuss it and understand why you are being asked for it or do you just want it to go away? No body can make it go away. There might be some ideas here on why you are being asked for it.
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Rob you must be right. I must be in the wrong thread since I certainly don't care why people are requesting as long as they don't request it from me. Simple me, I thought Lisa's thread was about 'Draping versus no draping". Her last paragraph was, after all:
"But I am curious as to other's thoughts and practices with regards to draping. Do you get a lot of requests to exclude it? What are your state's regulations? Have you ever worked on someone who wasn't draped?"
Since I've answered her questions I guess I don't need to follow this thread anymore. I'm certainly not interested in discussing what you term 'the gorilla in the corner'. As you stated in your last post 'no body can make it go away'. And since I am thankfully not in the heads of those requesting undraped massage or sexual favors from legitimate MTs, I certainly would only be able to offer speculations as to why they're doing it. If this discussion is now about what you think it is then I'll gladly leave you to your "gorilla".
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