a community of practitioners

Massage for Home Healthcare

I was just contact by a local home healthcare company that is wanting to add in-home massage for housebound patients. I would love to pursue the opportunity but I am getting varying feedback from different sources. I have a friend who found her calling in home healthcare and many of her patients are like family. However, my husband's youngest sister is disabled and he tells me he has heard endless horror stories from home healthcare nurses about the elderly, especially elderly gentlemen who may not have control of their faculties. He is concerned that I will be sexually harassed nonstop. So i'm going to open the floor to anyone with home healthcare experience, massage or nursing or homemaking. What are your experiences?

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Arti Ross Kelso on December 13, 2012 at 12:41pm

I currently do frequent in home sessions for Hospice clients.

I love the work and the people I meet. Because these are people that are generally very ill, and I am a 35 year seasoned therapist, sexual harrrasement has never occured to me, nor have I had even remotely suspicious motivations from clients. It has been very pure, fulfilling palliative care. Always another caregiver or a family member are in the house as well.

That said I had an experience when I was a very young therapist, where I answered an ad for an in home clinet and he did want more than a therapuetic massage. I was young and naive, and luckily he was not aggressive, and I left when I realized the situation with no fee, and a powerful lesson.

As in any setting with massage, you would want to set yourself up professionally. Create appropriate boundaries which would include a throrough intake to assess the situation by phone before you show up. If you have any sense that you could be uncomfortable, ask that another caregiver/family member be present ( for at least the first session). You could frame this as a normal part of getting to know one another.

Supporting people who are unable to get out is very worthy work so I would not write it off out of fear. You could turn that into conscious awareness and perhaps transform the opportunity into something truly fullfilling.

Working through an existing agency may also help as long as they are reputable. DO be sure you negotiate into your fee the mileage and travel time so you are being paid well for your time.

Hope that helps some.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Cassandra Cravens on December 13, 2012 at 7:30pm

Thank you so much for your response! I like your ideas for creating the right professional atmosphere at the start. Your suggestions about negotiations with the agency are great. I hadn't even considered my gas mileage.