Bad news for male therapists?

[xsarangheyyox]

Oh dear, bad case at London's Blackfriars Crown Court of a male massage therapist (and salon owner) accused of indecent assault. Only the prosecution case has been heard so far, but client claims a one-hour treatment lasted two and a half hours. No doubt this case will get a lot of space in the papers.
Is it inevitable that the publicity surrounding a case like this will put clients off male therapists?

 

[Katherine J]

heck i will have to be careful, most of my appointments run over!!!!

seriously though I have not heard about it and it wouldnt change my opinion of going to see a male therapist (in fact my regular therapist is male)


tigs
x

 

[NellyE]

My experience has been that I have never had a bad treatment from a male therapist, whereas female therapists can be a bit hit and miss...

Lesley

 

[Funktasticka]

The joys of kickboxing therapists? [8D]

 

[Figment 58]

[link=http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=4726304]Full story[/link]

Mat xxx

 

[Romo]

the guy in question is listed as a london-based tantric educator...
http://www.sourcetantra.com/certified-tantric-educators.html

maybe he got his modalities confused

i'm afraid it is bad news for us male therapists. the potential market for male therapists is orders of magnitude smaller mainly because of (1) homophobia among men (2) distrust among women of male therapists and (3) sexism in clinics/spas etc. yes, if you're good therapist, your practice will build. but in terms of growth potential, we need this kind of negative publicity like a hole in the head.

phew. that feels better already.

warm regards

henry

 

[Zeb]

bloody 'ell!

There was a similar case in Kingston Hospital with a physiotherapist who told a woman to strip naked. (Physiotherapy is carried out on clothed patients.) Can't seem to find info on google though.

 

[davis]

What a horror story.
As you say, the last thing we need - whether it scares clients away, or brings them in for the wrong reasons.

Let's hope it stays in proportion.

BV

PS Darren, if it's not on Google it doesn't exist

 

[OwieDokie]

[sm=rollaugh.gif]


wait a sec... i'm not on google! [sm=sad-smiley-047.gif]

 

[Winter Glory]

were going through the same at the minute as my dad is a reflexologist and an aromatherophy masseur and he has been accused of being to familiar with a client and he is absollutely devestated and i know my dad is telling the truth and hope the truth will win through

julie

 

[Meech Hoover]

Hi Julie

He must be very upset about that.

Unfortunately this is something that is going to get more common as time goes on, we normally follow the American trends about twenty years after it kicks off there and people thanks mainly to no win no fee offers from solicitors as hopeful of winning compensation for all sorts of things.

The answer is unfortunately to stop being such helpful and caring people and become ultra clinical which IMO is not the reason I became a therapist in the first place.

 

[punchinf4fun]

Julie,
That sounds terrible - for your father and everyone connected to him. I hope it gets sorted out. This sort of thing can be very discouraging for anyone starting out in this business. I've already been told by one female therapist that I'll only get clients if I go in for something more "masculine", ie sports massage. But that's not what interested me in training in the first place.
Well, we'll just have to see. If nothing else, my wife and daughter will benefit (are already benefiting) from my training. I know I'm good (people have told me). All I've got to do now is try to connect with the people who can benefit from my abilities.
Incidentally, all through my training I kept quiet about it at my "day job" as I knew everyone's reaction would be all too predictable. Now they know - and, needless to say, it didn't take them long to make the connection between me and the court case: "Isn't that what YOU do??!" Hugely amusing...

Nick

 

[rugzguru]

In the newspaper articvle, the client is quoted to have said
Sadly there is still a lot of education to be done. Teach people/children not to stay silent when they are in what feels (rightly or not) as an abusive situation.
It is sad, but help can so ofetn be misunderstood.

Artemis

 

[LucyHerr]

here's an update...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4638419.stm

 

[rweajueqizsinjemb]

just looking at the update, the guy was obviously a menace to women and quite rightly was jailed. We arent just talking about a lone woman saying that she had been touched up, this guy sexually molested more than one.

We have to keep things in perspective, as these are isolated cases. The key to it all is being 100% professional at all times, and ensuring you cover yourself, by conducting a thorough and comprehensive consultation, which should be signed by the client, and everything you do within the treatment being recorded afterwards.

I feel that too many massage therapists skip this, which I feel is not only unprofessional, but can lead to unscrupulous people accusing them of all sorts. If you notice nowadays you dont get an insurance certificate to pin up on your wall...this is due to the large number of bogus claims being made against therapists, because they can see just how much they are insured for.

Its a shame for the aromatherapist mentioned above, there are people who get attached to their therapists, and who can be fantasists, and theres not too much you can do, apart from, as I said, almost clinical consultations, which immediately gives you a thoroughly professional appearance.

 

[rweavuaninjiyjerr]

He hasn't been found guilty yet I assume.
Even if he is, my patients know me and anyone who has doubts can access any of them for a reference.
I think its safe to say that every male masseur is automatically a suspect; after all, why else would any red blooded man want to do a job like that?
You know that it's not true, and I know it's not true, but if people want to think that way, there's nothing standing in their way except their prejudices.
Mike

 

[Wonder Guard]

i totally agree with sportstherapy about the recording of the treatment etc. it is the best and easiest way forward to stamp out prejudice and uphold professionalism for both genders

i guess it won't be long tho until crb checks are required by clinics/ salons etc.

i had one done in order for me to do baby massage at work and although they are not foolproof a crb would have listed said molesters previous jail sentence in that particular case

though i suppose that is no protection for the public if someone dodgy(male or female) is working from home/ mobile etc and don't get themselves checked.

it's such a shame that people have untoward perceptions of male therapists.
that said i had a (horrible and creepy) man ask me a while back "what does your husband think about you doing massage?"

it always seems to be those with the least knowledge form the most steadfast opinions huh?

 

[Nicky Alien]

[sm=nature-smiley-008.gif]I wouldn't have thought that the antics of one bad apple isreally going to give male massage therapists a bad name across the board. That's if he is a bad apple, I can't say I've read about the case, has he been tried & convicted?[/align][/align]While mostpeoplemight assess that he was using massage therapy as a door of opportunity, they would equally be able to recognise this as a statement of the individual's motivation in those circumstances rather than a general statement on the inclinations of male massage therapists everywhere.
[/align][/align][/align][/align][/align]

 

[luvscontagious]

Yes, he has been convicted - see the following:

And, no, it should/must not affect the work done by thousands of good (male) therapists.