Draping versus No Draping

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Laura K Dylla on November 15, 2010 at 4:52pm

Rob, maybe you are right...it is about each person making a decision about how they will approach their massage sessions and whether there will be any "sexual thoughts" floating around the table where the client is and the therapist is giving the massage. What a person puts into thoughts, usually shows up in the client or LMT and for anyone.
All I wanted for you to do was clarify your comments which you did and I thank you. And YES, sexual connotations may be in the minds of the clients, but that does nothing to promote a session that is focused on the particular needs which the client saw you in the first place.
We still have a great deal of people who will NOT seek massage and whether it is because they fear sexual context or don't like how their bodies look, or whatever...having a clear definition of what massage really is will make all massage sessions more pleasant and will bring them back to get more.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Dan Brownell on November 16, 2010 at 10:19am

In my humble opinion, I don't believe the draping policies should be regulated by state or federal governments. I believe each therapist should let their conscience be there guide. I got involved in a discussion with a lawyer a couple years ago, who was looking for an undraped massage. I explained the TN massage licensure boards rules governing draping. In a nutshell they mandate the therapist provide draping (sheets, towels or any material that covers the genitals and in the case of females - the female breasts) for the client. This lawyer agreed that is what is said, but nowhere does it say the client must use the draping. With further discussion between the lawyer and I, and discussions with another local therapist, I began to see draping requirements in a different light. It should be what is comfortable between the therapist and client as to what drape is used, if any drape is used. It should be a personal choice by each that is mutually agreed upon. Further, all boundries should be respected by both the therapist and client. I do believe that Americans do have a hang up when it comes to the human body. That nudity automatically illicits a sexual connentation. This is sad and so far from the truth.

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Permalink Reply by Rob E on November 16, 2010 at 10:31am

Thanks, Laura. I think you may now see I'm only advocating that therapists use their own judgment and knowledge of their relationship with their client to make an experience that works for both of them.

This could probably be the start of another thread topic but if you don't mind I'm curious about your thoughts and other MT's thoughts on whether they view their business as a clinical service or a lifestyle service or both.

Let me pose some hypotheticals ALL with these assumptions: A) the drape is on, b) no one suggests anything remotely sexual, C) the client has no physical ailments, no sore muscles, no back problems, no spasms. Person one is a housewife who doesn't get out much and doesn't have a lot of friends to talk to and she likes to treat herself to some special time and she talks with you a lot while she's on the table. Person two is a single man who does not have a girlfriend or wife. He's very lonely and while he has not said anything to you he secretly just loves the fact that someone will touch him for an hour. Person three is either a man or woman but they are fairly wealthy with plenty of disposable income and they just love the fact that they can use their wealth to hire people to pamper them the way Roman royalty had servants to wave fans on them, bathe them, dress them. It is simply stroking person three's ego. Again, they have not said this to you but you have a crystal ball and you can see the real reason they came to you.

Do you want these hypothetical customers knowing what you now know about them now or do you want them to go away? If the lonely guy keeps his mouth shut and keeps his motivations secret is that OK but if he tells you what he is thinking does it get creepy? Does the third person offend you or even flat out piss you off because you're not a tool to stroke their ego but rather you are a highly trained clinician that helps people with their ailments?

Thinking with a business hat on I think this is a trap that independent MT’s fall into. They very much want to justify the necessity of the service they provide but yet they struggle to do so, they struggle to get paid well, and they even struggle to get clients to choose them. They are frustrated by the fact that many spas have no problems getting people to pay huge money for lesser services and MT’s won’t be accepted by the medical community and certainly can rarely be paid by a customer’s insurance. MT’s frequently get caught in limbo between fluffy spa and doctor’s office. So who are you? Are you a clinician or a service provider? Or, can you be both?

My personal take on it is that MT’s think of themselves more as clinicians and most potential clients think of MT’s as service providers. If the potential client needs a clinician they would likely start with their doctor. The doctor would refer them to a PT or a Chiropractor where massage services are available and it all rolls with insurance paying part or all. If a potential client just wants to be King or Queen for an hour or two they head off to the spa and the beautiful rooms and sauna and all the servants getting them things.

Where does that leave the individual MT? There is one thing you can offer that a Doctor or Spa can’t and one thing only. It’s a personal relationship. If you have that relationship and you understand and accept your clients for who they are and why they come they just might see you before their doctor when they strain a muscle or feel stressed. They might come to you to feel like a King or Queen because they know you can make them feel that way and you’re a whole lot cheaper and you can use your relationship knowledge to tailor that experience for them….this person likes to be bundled, this person doesn’t like drapes so much, woman A likes breast massage but woman B wants no part of it, person C hates being cold, person D has religious beliefs that have to be respected. Your power and advantage as an individual MT is that you can learn and know your clients better than anyone and the more accepting you can comfortably be of their preferences the more customer base you will have. The more demand you have gives you the opportunity to ask for higher rates.

I do advise that MT’s make the clinical argument less because if it’s clinical the prospect is going to go see their doctor. I’m not saying there is no clinical value or an MT can’t help. I just think most people will see a doctor first if they think they are injured and then the MT is out of the loop.

I think MT’s need to also steel a page (but not the whole book) from spas and make the experience as luxurious as they REASONABLY can. The room decoration, the temperature, the lighting, they quality of sheets, water, fruit. What about a clean shower afterwards to wash off the oils if they are climbing back into nice clothes? Whatever you can REASONABLY provide will do wonders for your business.




Laura K Dylla said:

Rob, maybe you are right...it is about each person making a decision about how they will approach their massage sessions and whether there will be any "sexual thoughts" floating around the table where the client is and the therapist is giving the massage. What a person puts into thoughts, usually shows up in the client or LMT and for anyone.
All I wanted for you to do was clarify your comments which you did and I thank you. And YES, sexual connotations may be in the minds of the clients, but that does nothing to promote a session that is focused on the particular needs which the client saw you in the first place.
We still have a great deal of people who will NOT seek massage and whether it is because they fear sexual context or don't like how their bodies look, or whatever...having a clear definition of what massage really is will make all massage sessions more pleasant and will bring them back to get more.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Daniel Cohen on November 16, 2010 at 10:56am

Well said!

Our profession provides a wider scope than the medical field. We can be both clinical and social groomers. We provide what the Chiropracter or Physician alone do not and much more contact than the Hairstylist. We provide a necessary function in society even beyond the standard health issues.

My clients usually come to me referred by family or friends. They come because of a physical problem. They may or may not have already sought medical help. If they did they are not satisfied with the results. If I help them they usually continue to come on a regular basis because it makes them feel better and their life easier.

Simply put, no matter what we view ourselves as, we improve quality of life.

Drape or not to drape should be left between therapist and client not laws.





Rob E said:

Thanks, Laura. I think you may now see I'm only advocating that therapists use their own judgment and knowledge of their relationship with their client to make an experience that works for both of them.

This could probably be the start of another thread topic but if you don't mind I'm curious about your thoughts and other MT's thoughts on whether they view their business as a clinical service or a lifestyle service or both.

Let me pose some hypotheticals ALL with these assumptions: A) the drape is on, b) no one suggests anything remotely sexual, C) the client has no physical ailments, no sore muscles, no back problems, no spasms. Person one is a housewife who doesn't get out much and doesn't have a lot of friends to talk to and she likes to treat herself to some special time and she talks with you a lot while she's on the table. Person two is a single man who does not have a girlfriend or wife. He's very lonely and while he has not said anything to you he secretly just loves the fact that someone will touch him for an hour. Person three is either a man or woman but they are fairly wealthy with plenty of disposable income and they just love the fact that they can use their wealth to hire people to pamper them the way Roman royalty had servants to wave fans on them, bathe them, dress them. It is simply stroking person three's ego. Again, they have not said this to you but you have a crystal ball and you can see the real reason they came to you.

Do you want these hypothetical customers knowing what you now know about them now or do you want them to go away? If the lonely guy keeps his mouth shut and keeps his motivations secret is that OK but if he tells you what he is thinking does it get creepy? Does the third person offend you or even flat out piss you off because you're not a tool to stroke their ego but rather you are a highly trained clinician that helps people with their ailments?

Thinking with a business hat on I think this is a trap that independent MT’s fall into. They very much want to justify the necessity of the service they provide but yet they struggle to do so, they struggle to get paid well, and they even struggle to get clients to choose them. They are frustrated by the fact that many spas have no problems getting people to pay huge money for lesser services and MT’s won’t be accepted by the medical community and certainly can rarely be paid by a customer’s insurance. MT’s frequently get caught in limbo between fluffy spa and doctor’s office. So who are you? Are you a clinician or a service provider? Or, can you be both?

My personal take on it is that MT’s think of themselves more as clinicians and most potential clients think of MT’s as service providers. If the potential client needs a clinician they would likely start with their doctor. The doctor would refer them to a PT or a Chiropractor where massage services are available and it all rolls with insurance paying part or all. If a potential client just wants to be King or Queen for an hour or two they head off to the spa and the beautiful rooms and sauna and all the servants getting them things.

Where does that leave the individual MT? There is one thing you can offer that a Doctor or Spa can’t and one thing only. It’s a personal relationship. If you have that relationship and you understand and accept your clients for who they are and why they come they just might see you before their doctor when they strain a muscle or feel stressed. They might come to you to feel like a King or Queen because they know you can make them feel that way and you’re a whole lot cheaper and you can use your relationship knowledge to tailor that experience for them….this person likes to be bundled, this person doesn’t like drapes so much, woman A likes breast massage but woman B wants no part of it, person C hates being cold, person D has religious beliefs that have to be respected. Your power and advantage as an individual MT is that you can learn and know your clients better than anyone and the more accepting you can comfortably be of their preferences the more customer base you will have. The more demand you have gives you the opportunity to ask for higher rates.

I do advise that MT’s make the clinical argument less because if it’s clinical the prospect is going to go see their doctor. I’m not saying there is no clinical value or an MT can’t help. I just think most people will see a doctor first if they think they are injured and then the MT is out of the loop.

I think MT’s need to also steel a page (but not the whole book) from spas and make the experience as luxurious as they REASONABLY can. The room decoration, the temperature, the lighting, they quality of sheets, water, fruit. What about a clean shower afterwards to wash off the oils if they are climbing back into nice clothes? Whatever you can REASONABLY provide will do wonders for your business.




Laura K Dylla said:

Rob, maybe you are right...it is about each person making a decision about how they will approach their massage sessions and whether there will be any "sexual thoughts" floating around the table where the client is and the therapist is giving the massage. What a person puts into thoughts, usually shows up in the client or LMT and for anyone.
All I wanted for you to do was clarify your comments which you did and I thank you. And YES, sexual connotations may be in the minds of the clients, but that does nothing to promote a session that is focused on the particular needs which the client saw you in the first place.
We still have a great deal of people who will NOT seek massage and whether it is because they fear sexual context or don't like how their bodies look, or whatever...having a clear definition of what massage really is will make all massage sessions more pleasant and will bring them back to get more.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Lisa on November 23, 2010 at 8:59am

I think you should break this into another thread so we can have a more specific response to this.

However...it made me think about a recent new client. She is the aunt of a repeat client. The repeat client bought a session for her and I went to the aunt's house to do the session. The repeat client also bought a session for her grandmother. So I had 2 sessions at their home...both very different in intentions.

The grandmother session (she was in her 80's or so) did not speak much English. She was frail and had never had a massage before. I found my session to take on a very nurturing type of intention. It happened very naturally without much thought on my part.

The aunt was in her 50s and had only had 2 massages previously. 1 was in a 4 star resort and 1 was at a ME.

Afterward she and I talked for a bit. She loves the session and shared with me how my session brought her back to her memories of the 4 star resort session. She said she had been very disappointed in the ME session since it was after her first experience at the 4 star. She went on about how incredible my session was and how she felt it was a real healing that I do. I talked to her about building up my "practice". She responded with how it was more of a "ministry" that I was providing in the healing that I was doing.

I had never thought of it like that before. And yet in a way...I think she is right. It's not just a clinical thing or a luxury thing. The power of touch is a HEALING thing...for anyone. We all know the studies of orphaned babies and how they develop or don't develop based on the amount or lack of touch they receive.

Anyhow...I thought I'd throw that in the mix. I'm not "preaching" of some miracle work, but I did like her stance on massage and what we really do when we touch another human being...mind, body and spirit.

Rob E said:

Thanks, Laura. I think you may now see I'm only advocating that therapists use their own judgment and knowledge of their relationship with their client to make an experience that works for both of them.

This could probably be the start of another thread topic but if you don't mind I'm curious about your thoughts and other MT's thoughts on whether they view their business as a clinical service or a lifestyle service or both.

Let me pose some hypotheticals ALL with these assumptions: A) the drape is on, b) no one suggests anything remotely sexual, C) the client has no physical ailments, no sore muscles, no back problems, no spasms. Person one is a housewife who doesn't get out much and doesn't have a lot of friends to talk to and she likes to treat herself to some special time and she talks with you a lot while she's on the table. Person two is a single man who does not have a girlfriend or wife. He's very lonely and while he has not said anything to you he secretly just loves the fact that someone will touch him for an hour. Person three is either a man or woman but they are fairly wealthy with plenty of disposable income and they just love the fact that they can use their wealth to hire people to pamper them the way Roman royalty had servants to wave fans on them, bathe them, dress them. It is simply stroking person three's ego. Again, they have not said this to you but you have a crystal ball and you can see the real reason they came to you.

Do you want these hypothetical customers knowing what you now know about them now or do you want them to go away? If the lonely guy keeps his mouth shut and keeps his motivations secret is that OK but if he tells you what he is thinking does it get creepy? Does the third person offend you or even flat out piss you off because you're not a tool to stroke their ego but rather you are a highly trained clinician that helps people with their ailments?

Thinking with a business hat on I think this is a trap that independent MT’s fall into. They very much want to justify the necessity of the service they provide but yet they struggle to do so, they struggle to get paid well, and they even struggle to get clients to choose them. They are frustrated by the fact that many spas have no problems getting people to pay huge money for lesser services and MT’s won’t be accepted by the medical community and certainly can rarely be paid by a customer’s insurance. MT’s frequently get caught in limbo between fluffy spa and doctor’s office. So who are you? Are you a clinician or a service provider? Or, can you be both?

My personal take on it is that MT’s think of themselves more as clinicians and most potential clients think of MT’s as service providers. If the potential client needs a clinician they would likely start with their doctor. The doctor would refer them to a PT or a Chiropractor where massage services are available and it all rolls with insurance paying part or all. If a potential client just wants to be King or Queen for an hour or two they head off to the spa and the beautiful rooms and sauna and all the servants getting them things.

Where does that leave the individual MT? There is one thing you can offer that a Doctor or Spa can’t and one thing only. It’s a personal relationship. If you have that relationship and you understand and accept your clients for who they are and why they come they just might see you before their doctor when they strain a muscle or feel stressed. They might come to you to feel like a King or Queen because they know you can make them feel that way and you’re a whole lot cheaper and you can use your relationship knowledge to tailor that experience for them….this person likes to be bundled, this person doesn’t like drapes so much, woman A likes breast massage but woman B wants no part of it, person C hates being cold, person D has religious beliefs that have to be respected. Your power and advantage as an individual MT is that you can learn and know your clients better than anyone and the more accepting you can comfortably be of their preferences the more customer base you will have. The more demand you have gives you the opportunity to ask for higher rates.

I do advise that MT’s make the clinical argument less because if it’s clinical the prospect is going to go see their doctor. I’m not saying there is no clinical value or an MT can’t help. I just think most people will see a doctor first if they think they are injured and then the MT is out of the loop.

I think MT’s need to also steel a page (but not the whole book) from spas and make the experience as luxurious as they REASONABLY can. The room decoration, the temperature, the lighting, they quality of sheets, water, fruit. What about a clean shower afterwards to wash off the oils if they are climbing back into nice clothes? Whatever you can REASONABLY provide will do wonders for your business.




Laura K Dylla said:

Rob, maybe you are right...it is about each person making a decision about how they will approach their massage sessions and whether there will be any "sexual thoughts" floating around the table where the client is and the therapist is giving the massage. What a person puts into thoughts, usually shows up in the client or LMT and for anyone.
All I wanted for you to do was clarify your comments which you did and I thank you. And YES, sexual connotations may be in the minds of the clients, but that does nothing to promote a session that is focused on the particular needs which the client saw you in the first place.
We still have a great deal of people who will NOT seek massage and whether it is because they fear sexual context or don't like how their bodies look, or whatever...having a clear definition of what massage really is will make all massage sessions more pleasant and will bring them back to get more.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Daniel Cohen on November 23, 2010 at 9:23am

Lisa you bring up something we should never forget. We provide touch with all that encompasses. In this urbanized world of texting, sound bites and isolation our skills become high demand that no other profession provides. We are not doctors but we heal. We are not beauticians but we beautify by causing to radiate from within. We are MTs, very special social groomers and healers. We address many issues for many types of people by our touch.

This is exactly why draping should not be a matter of law but of choice. If we are professional we will work within the comfort level of ourselves and our clients because that is our purpose. Actually psychology indicates that the minimally clothed body is more sexually stimulating than the nude body. I find someone I am attracted to is less sexually attracting undraped than outlined by a sheet that I am folding to expose the part I will work on. If we are professional I believe it is important to never encourage the idea that nudity is automatically related to sex. This does much to damage the professional image and perpetuate the type of remarks that make us cringe. After all, to the public nude is nude whether draped or undraped.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Rob E on November 23, 2010 at 9:57am

That's awesome! I think that woman told you just about everything you could need to know. It's your home as an MT. Even though it was her first time on your table I would speculate it had a much more personal feeling than either the ME or the Spa because it was in her home, with an individual person and not a company, and you were referred by her niece. You need to leverage that type of personal connection with every client you can.

The tough part is that not everyone who comes throug the door will be a 50 year old female aunt. The next person will be a 30-something mom who is stressed out, or a 45 year old male autoworker who aches after doing physical work after all of those years, or it will be the person with lots of disposable income who just likes to get pampered. The connection will be different with every single peson but you are only one person. You are you. You can't be 40 different people.

So if you want to tie it back around to the thread of drape vs. no-drape, how flexible can you be to provide that emotional and spiritual healing if you know your client and believe that accepting their entire body exposed on your table is part of their healing process? MT's have to be chameleons of sorts. They change their colors every time somone different comes in the room. This is a rhetorical question. It's different for every MT and will be different with each client because of how well you know them. You have to know that not-draping would actually be theraputic for them and not a means to another end. You will never know this about a person on your table for the first time. There will have to be a lot of decent communicating going on and you will need some time to really know what is making your client tick.



Lisa said:

I think you should break this into another thread so we can have a more specific response to this.

However...it made me think about a recent new client. She is the aunt of a repeat client. The repeat client bought a session for her and I went to the aunt's house to do the session. The repeat client also bought a session for her grandmother. So I had 2 sessions at their home...both very different in intentions.

The grandmother session (she was in her 80's or so) did not speak much English. She was frail and had never had a massage before. I found my session to take on a very nurturing type of intention. It happened very naturally without much thought on my part.

The aunt was in her 50s and had only had 2 massages previously. 1 was in a 4 star resort and 1 was at a ME.

Afterward she and I talked for a bit. She loves the session and shared with me how my session brought her back to her memories of the 4 star resort session. She said she had been very disappointed in the ME session since it was after her first experience at the 4 star. She went on about how incredible my session was and how she felt it was a real healing that I do. I talked to her about building up my "practice". She responded with how it was more of a "ministry" that I was providing in the healing that I was doing.

I had never thought of it like that before. And yet in a way...I think she is right. It's not just a clinical thing or a luxury thing. The power of touch is a HEALING thing...for anyone. We all know the studies of orphaned babies and how they develop or don't develop based on the amount or lack of touch they receive.

Anyhow...I thought I'd throw that in the mix. I'm not "preaching" of some miracle work, but I did like her stance on massage and what we really do when we touch another human being...mind, body and spirit.

Rob E said:

Thanks, Laura. I think you may now see I'm only advocating that therapists use their own judgment and knowledge of their relationship with their client to make an experience that works for both of them.

This could probably be the start of another thread topic but if you don't mind I'm curious about your thoughts and other MT's thoughts on whether they view their business as a clinical service or a lifestyle service or both.

Let me pose some hypotheticals ALL with these assumptions: A) the drape is on, b) no one suggests anything remotely sexual, C) the client has no physical ailments, no sore muscles, no back problems, no spasms. Person one is a housewife who doesn't get out much and doesn't have a lot of friends to talk to and she likes to treat herself to some special time and she talks with you a lot while she's on the table. Person two is a single man who does not have a girlfriend or wife. He's very lonely and while he has not said anything to you he secretly just loves the fact that someone will touch him for an hour. Person three is either a man or woman but they are fairly wealthy with plenty of disposable income and they just love the fact that they can use their wealth to hire people to pamper them the way Roman royalty had servants to wave fans on them, bathe them, dress them. It is simply stroking person three's ego. Again, they have not said this to you but you have a crystal ball and you can see the real reason they came to you.

Do you want these hypothetical customers knowing what you now know about them now or do you want them to go away? If the lonely guy keeps his mouth shut and keeps his motivations secret is that OK but if he tells you what he is thinking does it get creepy? Does the third person offend you or even flat out piss you off because you're not a tool to stroke their ego but rather you are a highly trained clinician that helps people with their ailments?

Thinking with a business hat on I think this is a trap that independent MT’s fall into. They very much want to justify the necessity of the service they provide but yet they struggle to do so, they struggle to get paid well, and they even struggle to get clients to choose them. They are frustrated by the fact that many spas have no problems getting people to pay huge money for lesser services and MT’s won’t be accepted by the medical community and certainly can rarely be paid by a customer’s insurance. MT’s frequently get caught in limbo between fluffy spa and doctor’s office. So who are you? Are you a clinician or a service provider? Or, can you be both?

My personal take on it is that MT’s think of themselves more as clinicians and most potential clients think of MT’s as service providers. If the potential client needs a clinician they would likely start with their doctor. The doctor would refer them to a PT or a Chiropractor where massage services are available and it all rolls with insurance paying part or all. If a potential client just wants to be King or Queen for an hour or two they head off to the spa and the beautiful rooms and sauna and all the servants getting them things.

Where does that leave the individual MT? There is one thing you can offer that a Doctor or Spa can’t and one thing only. It’s a personal relationship. If you have that relationship and you understand and accept your clients for who they are and why they come they just might see you before their doctor when they strain a muscle or feel stressed. They might come to you to feel like a King or Queen because they know you can make them feel that way and you’re a whole lot cheaper and you can use your relationship knowledge to tailor that experience for them….this person likes to be bundled, this person doesn’t like drapes so much, woman A likes breast massage but woman B wants no part of it, person C hates being cold, person D has religious beliefs that have to be respected. Your power and advantage as an individual MT is that you can learn and know your clients better than anyone and the more accepting you can comfortably be of their preferences the more customer base you will have. The more demand you have gives you the opportunity to ask for higher rates.

I do advise that MT’s make the clinical argument less because if it’s clinical the prospect is going to go see their doctor. I’m not saying there is no clinical value or an MT can’t help. I just think most people will see a doctor first if they think they are injured and then the MT is out of the loop.

I think MT’s need to also steel a page (but not the whole book) from spas and make the experience as luxurious as they REASONABLY can. The room decoration, the temperature, the lighting, they quality of sheets, water, fruit. What about a clean shower afterwards to wash off the oils if they are climbing back into nice clothes? Whatever you can REASONABLY provide will do wonders for your business.




Laura K Dylla said:

Rob, maybe you are right...it is about each person making a decision about how they will approach their massage sessions and whether there will be any "sexual thoughts" floating around the table where the client is and the therapist is giving the massage. What a person puts into thoughts, usually shows up in the client or LMT and for anyone.
All I wanted for you to do was clarify your comments which you did and I thank you. And YES, sexual connotations may be in the minds of the clients, but that does nothing to promote a session that is focused on the particular needs which the client saw you in the first place.
We still have a great deal of people who will NOT seek massage and whether it is because they fear sexual context or don't like how their bodies look, or whatever...having a clear definition of what massage really is will make all massage sessions more pleasant and will bring them back to get more.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by darrell roth on March 4, 2011 at 12:57pm

i have found that if someone wants "extra" the draping or lack there of in no way affects their attempt to persuede you into doing what they want.  it falls into the "comfort zone" catagory.... for instance, i have a client with a foot fetish, so i dont massage her feet because her intense response to foot massages makes me uncomfortable.  dont ever feel bad that something makes you uncomfortable or feel stupid for turning someone down.  this is the best job ever ! doing things you are uncomfortable with no matter how inane will affect how you feel about working. 

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Rebecca Ann Underwood on March 5, 2011 at 11:47am

This is definately a trust your instinct situation. In a massage chain I know it is listed as protocol and reinforced to upbuild the professionalism of the institution and ethical behavior of the Massage Therapist. In my opinion this is a no brainer. Drape everytime no matter what.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Alexei Levine on March 5, 2011 at 1:22pm

Great Point Ezekiel!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Daniel Cohen on March 5, 2011 at 1:25pm

Interesting comparison Ezekiel. I think when you are with a naked person on a table in a private room with or without draping it is simply a matter of the Therapists intent and professionalism. If these are lacking  then draped or not the line can be crossed. On the other hand I can understand if someone finds it easier to control their own desires with a draped form than an undraped. That you should decide yourself.

Ezekiel OBrien said:

This sort of magical thinking that there is a correlation between draping and ethical behavior of a massage therapists is.the same logic as, "He is a man of cloth, I will leave my child in his charge no questions asked." If someones energy is creepy or unethical no holy underwear or blankets will change that dynamic. That is a no brainer.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Peter Hernandez on March 6, 2011 at 4:11pm

 I began my career in Greece where draping was almost never an issue there. You have to be at ease with the situation that is about unfold (no pun)  Try to use minimal drapes (towels) at first. I have had over the years had many females start by wanting to wear under garments AND draping and after some sessions understood that they were safe with me and now are very comfortable to have either minimal draping or no draping at all. I always stay sensitive to their sense of comfort. As for my female LMT buddies many have said it is they themselves that must obtain that sense of security with a male client over a period of time. That may be a segway to let the clients know that once a sense of "comfort" and trust has been obtained sure  possible why not? 

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