Regulations and standards for health care practitioners change from time to time to as new information and/or situations come up. In the middle of September of 2017, the College of Massage Therapists of Ontario released new Standards of Practice for Massage Therapists to abide by. In order to keep you informed, I wanted to use this blog post as a platform to outline some of the changes that will be happening in my practice so that I am compliant with the new Standards for preventing sexual abuse and maintaining professional boundaries.
The main aspect that will be added is a new consent form. If an assessment and/or treatment of a sensitive area of the body is indicated for your treatment, Massage Therapists in Ontario are now required to have your written consent prior to anything being performed. These new regulations have been set forth to help eliminate inappropriate treatment of a client. These areas include one or more of the following regions:
Breast Tissues
Chest Wall Structures
Gluteal Region
Inner Thigh (Hip Adductors)
Prior to getting on the table, we will discuss how the assessment/treatment will be performed, the benefits, risks and side effects of the assessment/treatment and that you can withdraw your voluntary consent at any time. This is to ensure that you as a client are informed about your treatment and to prevent touching that you may not be comfortable with. The form will need to be completed prior to each treatment by both the therapist and the client.
There has also been a modification on the CMTO's standard for gift-giving. The College views any gift giving between therapist and client as a potential boundary violation of the therapeutic relationship, as it could indicate preferential treatment. For that reason, any gift (including monetary) will now be documented in the client's chart.
If you would like to learn more, please feel free to check out the new Standard here, or ask your Massage Therapist.
Thank you for taking the time to read this message, and I hope you have a great day!
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