Task 4 - The Ethics of Professional Practice

FM Task 4 – The Ethics of Professional Practice

Ethics and ethical considerations need to play an important role in any Massage Therapists professional practice. There are a number of aspects of ethics that a therapist must keep in mind throughout a massage and throughout their professional career. Below I have outlined and described a few ethical considerations that a massage therapist needs to make but this list is by no means definitive.

Client-centred care

Client-centred care is about the massage therapist having the clients best interests and needs in mind throughout the entire massage. It also means that the clients opinions, voice and approval matter. The client must agree to and approve the treatment plan and they must be aware that they have the right to terminate the massage at any time (Benjamin & Sohnen-Moe, 2004).

Informed consent

Informed consent is relevant to professional practice because it ensures that the client is informed of every aspect of your practice and the massage process. Informed consent works to allow knowledgeable evaluation of adequate information, risks and benefits presented to the client before the massage. Fritz (2003) notes that informed consent “supports professional behaviour” (p. 43) and this is why massage therapists must keep this in mind throughout their professional career.

Scope of practice

A massage therapist must only work within their own scope of practice to make sure that the client is not put at risk. As stated in the Massage New Zealand (2009) Code of Ethics in regards to scope of practice, a massage therapist should represent their training, qualifications and abilities honestly. A massage therapists scope of practice defines the particular working parameters for this profession (Salvo, 2003) and outlines the limitations of a massage therapists practice. It is important in terms of ethical considerations because it allows the client to become fully informed.

Confidentiality

Confidentiality is the principle that clients information is private and should not be discussed with anyone without the clients permission (Fritz, 2003). For this reason confidentiality is an important ethical consideration in any massage therapists professional practice. Client records should at all times be kept in a locked cabinet and access is only granted to other practitioners with the clients authorisation (Salvo, 2003). Confidentiality within the massage setting should also take into account what is said between client and therapist before and during the massage.

Boundaries

There are a number of different boundaries that require ethical considerations as a massage therapist. Boundaries can be personal, for example physical (touch) and emotional. Or boundaries can be professional in terms if the limits of behaviour between acceptable and unacceptable behaviour (Yardley-Nohr, 2006). Boundaries must be clearly communicated and well managed as part of a massage therapists professional practice (Salvo, 2003).

Power differentials

Every therapeutic relationship has an innate power differential. This can be due to the acknowledged difference of knowledge and skills between therapist and client (Salvo, 2003). Power differentials also exist between client and therapist due to the physical aspects of massage therapy (Benjamin & Sohnen-Moe, 2004). A therapist must always keep these power differentials in mind throughout any massage and it is important ethically that power differentials are not abused.

Relationships

There are a number of different relationships in a massage therapists life. What is ethically important is that the therapist maintains a professional client – therapist relationship. It is also important that the therapist dies not cross any boundaries from professional to personal relationship (Salvo, 2003). But a therapist must build some rapport with their client in order to build trust and to provide the client with the benefits of their service (Salvo, 2003).

Transference and Counter-transference

Benjamin & Sohnen-Moe (2004) note that “transference and counter-transference are usually unconscious” (p. 23) and occur respectively from client to therapist and therapist to client. Transference is the “personalization of the professional relationship by the client” (Fritz, 2003, p. 53) and often occurs when the client-therapist relationship has become personal rather than staying professional. On the other side, counter-transference is the therapists personalization of the client-therapist relationship (Fritz, 2003). A therapist is more likely to want their needs met through interaction rather than the clients needs and in the extreme case the relationship develops into an intimate one (Salvo, 2003). To continue to be ethically responsible a therapist must be able to recognise the signs of both transference and counter-transference. They must also have the ability to, or have access to help, to diffuse and deal with these types of situations.

As is illustrated above there are numerous ethical considerations to be made and kept in mind for massage therapists throughout their professional practice. Those listed above are only a snapshot and any massage therapist must take a further in-depth look at these and other ethical considerations.

References

Benjamin, B.E., & Sohnen-Moe, C. (2004). The ethics of touch: the hands-on practitioner’s guide to creating a professional, safe and enduring practice. Retrieved 28 July, 2009 from http://books.google.co.nz/books?id=qLFqSh3xo7kC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=&f=false.

Fritz, S. (2003). Mosby’s fundamentals of therapeutic massage (3rd ed.). St. Louis: Mosby. Massage New Zealand. (2009).

Massage New Zealand: Code of Ethics. Retrieved 30 July, 2009, from http://massagenewzealand.org.nz/about-us/code-of-ethics/.

Salvo, S. (2003). Massage therapy: principles and practice (2nd ed.). St. Louis: Mosby.

Yardley-Nohr, T. (2006). Ethics for Massage Therapists. Retrieved 29 July, 2009 from http://books.google.co.nz/books?id=vOyYuVjKetIC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=&f=false.