Massage Therapy: How to Cope with Transference

The best way to handle transference in massage therapy is to avoid it. Don't blame the client, transference is unconscious on their part and is normal behavior for a professional healing relationship. Maintaining proper boundaries with your client minimizes the incidences of transference and perhaps eliminates them altogether.

To prevent transference in massage therapy, decline when asked to provide details about your personal life. Massage clients frequently ask you personal questions, but you are not obligated to answer them. Set a boundary that communicates to clients that your relationship with them is professional and not personal. Politely change the topic of conversation to focus on the massage. If the client is on the table, the easiest way to keep her quiet is asking her to focus on their breath. Clients will be encouraged to probe for details of your personal life if you ask them questions about theirs. Only ask the client questions that pertain to the information you need to perform the massage correctly.

Maintain business hours to deflect transference in massage therapy. Do not answer your phone at unreasonable hours. Unless you provide an "on-call" service, reasonable hours for clients to call are anywhere between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. It is tempting to answer all your calls, so you can book appointments. However, when a client calls at an unreasonable hour he is testing your boundaries. He will leave a message, you can call him back and book the appointment later.

Do not accept gifts from clients. If you want to avoid transference in massage therapy, you should not accept presents, especially any gift that makes you uncomfortable. When a client gives you a gift she is trying to personalize your professional relationship with her. An expensive gift may indicate the client wants something in return. Refusing a gift is difficult. If you must accept the gift, keep it in the reception area for everyone to enjoy.

Set your price, and stick to it. When a client tries to bargain with you, she wants to see how easy it is to manipulate you. To avert transference in massage therapy, do not lower your price at the request of your client. Instead, offer package deals or a referral program.

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