Current through Register Vol. 6, March 22, 2024
(1) PROFESSIONALISM
The licensee must provide optimal levels of professional
therapeutic massage and bodywork services and demonstrate excellence in
practice by promoting healing and well-being through responsible,
compassionate, and respectful touch. In the licensee's professional role, the
licensee shall:
(a) treat each client
with respect, dignity, and worth;
(b) use professional verbal, nonverbal, and
written communications;
(c)
provide an environment that is safe and comfortable for the client and which,
at a minimum, meets all legal requirements for health and safety;
(d) use standard precautions to ensure
professional hygienic practices and maintain a level of personal hygiene
appropriate for practitioners in the therapeutic setting;
(e) wear clothing that is clean, modest, and
professional;
(f) obtain voluntary
and informed consent from the client prior to initiating the session;
(g) if applicable, conduct an
accurate needs assessment, develop a plan of care with the client, and update
the plan as needed;
(h) use
appropriate draping to protect the client's physical and emotionalprivacy;
(i) be knowledgeable of the
licensee's scope of practice and practice only within these limitations;
(j) refer to other professionals
when in the best interest of the client and practitioner;
(k) seek other professional advice when
needed;
(l) respect the traditions
and practices of other professionals and foster collegial relationships; and
(m) not falsely impugn the reputation of any colleague.
(2) LEGAL AND ETHICAL REQUIREMENTS. The
licensee must comply with all the legal requirements in applicable
jurisdictions regulating the profession of therapeutic massage and bodywork. In
the licensee's professional role, the licensee shall:
(a) obey all local, state, and federal laws;
(b) refrain from any behavior that
results in illegal, discriminatory, or unethical actions;
(c) accept responsibility for the licensee's
own actions;
(d) report to the
proper massage therapy regulatory body within 30 days of discovery of any
evidence, such as first-hand knowledge, indicating any unethical, incompetent,
or illegal act committed by other licensees;
(e) maintain accurate and truthful records.
(3) CONFIDENTIALITY.
The licensee shall respect the confidentiality of client
information and safeguard all records. In the licensee's professional role, the
licensee shall:
(a) protect the
confidentiality of the client's identity and information in all conversations,
advertisements, and any and all other matters unless disclosure of identifiable
information is requested by the client in writing, is medically necessary, or
is required by law;
(b) protect the
interests of clients who are minors or clients who are unable to give voluntary
and informed consent by obtaining prior written permission from a legal
guardian;
(c) solicit only
information that is relevant to the professional client/therapist relationship;
(d) securely retain client files
for a minimum period of four years from the termination of the therapeutic
relationship; and
(e) dispose of
client files in a secure manner.
(4) BUSINESS PRACTICES. The licensee shall
practice with honesty, integrity, and lawfulness in the business of therapeutic
massage and bodywork. In the licensee's professional role, the licensee shall:
(a) provide a physical setting that is safe
and meets all applicable legal requirements for health and safety;
(b) maintain adequate progress notes for each
client session, if applicable;
(c)
accurately and truthfully inform the public of services provided;
(d) honestly represent all professional
qualifications and affiliations;
(e) promote the licensee's business with
integrity and avoid potential and actual conflicts of interest;
(f) advertise in a manner that is honest,
dignified, accurate and representative of services provided and remains
consistent with board statutes and rules;
(g) advertise in a manner that is not
misleading to the public and shall never use sensational, sexual, or
provocative language and/or pictures to promote the licensee's business;
(h) comply with all laws regarding
sexual harassment;
(i) not exploit
the trust and dependency of others, including clients and employees/co-workers;
(j) disclose a schedule of fees in
advance of the session;
(k) make
financial arrangements in advance which are clearly understood by, and
safeguard the best interests of, the client or consumer;
(l) follow Generally Accepted Accounting
Principles;
(m) file all
applicable municipal, state, and federal taxes;
(n) maintain accurate financial records,
contracts and legal obligations, appointment records, tax reports, and receipts
for the most recent three fiscal years;
(o) act in a manner that justifies public
trust and confidence, enhances the reputation of the profession, and safeguards
the interest of individual clients. The licensee will:
(i) have a sincere commitment to provide the
highest quality of care to those who seek their professional services;
(ii) represent their
qualifications honestly, including education and professional affiliations, and
provide only those services that they are qualified to perform;
(iii) accurately inform clients, other health
care practitioners, and the public of the scope and limitations of their
discipline;
(iv) acknowledge the
limitations of and contraindications for massage and bodywork and refer clients
to appropriate health professionals;
(v) provide treatment only where there is
reasonable expectation that it will be advantageous to the client;
(vi) consistently maintain and improve
professional knowledge and competence, striving for professional excellence
through regular assessment of personal and professional strengths and
weaknesses and through continued education training;
(vii) conduct their business and professional
activities with honesty and integrity, and respect the inherent worth of all
persons;
(viii) refuse to unjustly
discriminate against clients and/or health professionals;
(ix) safeguard the confidentiality of the
client's identity and information in all conversations, advertisements, and any
and all other matters unless disclosure of identifiable information is
requested by the client in writing, is medically necessary, or is required by
law;
(x) respect the client's
right to treatment with informed and voluntary consent. The licensee will
obtain and record the informed consent of the client, or client's advocate,
before providing treatment. This consent may be written or verbal;
(xi) respect the client's right to refuse,
modify, or terminate treatment regardless of prior consent given;
(xii) provide draping and treatment in a way
that ensures the safety, comfort, and privacy of the client;
(xiii) exercise the right to refuse to treat
any person or part of the body for just and reasonable cause;
(xiv) refrain, under all circumstances, from
participating in a sexual relationship or sexual conduct with the client,
whether consensual or otherwise, from the beginning of the client/therapist
relationship and for a minimum of six months after the termination of the
client therapist relationship, unless an ongoing current sexual relationship
existed prior to the date the therapeutic relationship began;
(xv) avoid any interest, activity, or
influence which might be in conflict with the practitioner's obligation to act
in the best interests of the client or the profession;
(xvi) respect the client's boundaries with
regard to privacy, disclosure, exposure, emotional expression, beliefs, and the
client's reasonable expectations of professional behavior. Practitioners will
respect the client's autonomy; and
(xvii) refuse any gifts or benefits that are
intended to influence a referral, decision or treatment, or that are purely for
personal gain and not for the good of the client.
(5) ROLES AND BOUNDARIES. The
licensee shall adhere to ethical boundaries and perform the professional roles
designed to protect both the client and the practitioner, and safeguard the
therapeutic value of the relationship. In the licensee's professional role, the
licensee shall:
(a) recognize the licensee's
personal limitations and practice only within these limitations;
(b) recognize the licensee's influential
position with the client and not exploit the relationship for personal or other
gain;
(c) recognize and limit the
impact of transference and counter-transference between the client and the
licensee;
(d) avoid dual or
multidimensional relationships that could impair professional judgment or
result in exploitation of a client, student, employee, supervisee, mentee,
trainee, or anyone else with whom a power differential exists;
(e) acknowledge and respect the client's
freedom of choice in the therapeutic session;
(f) respect the client's right to refuse the
therapeutic session or any part of the therapeutic session;
(g) refrain from practicing under the
influence of alcohol, drugs, or any illegal substances, with the exception of a
prescribed dosage of prescription medication which does not impair the
licensee;
(h) have the right to
refuse and/or terminate the service to a client who is abusive or under the
influence of alcohol, drugs, or any illegal substance; and
(i) have the right to refuse and/or terminate
the service to a client who exhibits language or behavior which the therapist
deems as an immediate or potential risk to the safety of the client, the
licensee, or the therapeutic relationship.
(6) PREVENTION OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT AND
INAPPROPRIATE TOUCH. The licensee shall refrain from any behavior that
sexualizes, or appears to sexualize, the client/therapist relationship. The
licensee recognizes the intimacy of the therapeutic relationship may activate
practitioner and/or client needs and/or desires that weaken boundaries which
may lead to sexualizing the therapeutic relationship. In the licensee's
professional role, the licensee shall:
(a)
refrain from participating in a sexual relationship or sexual conduct with the
client, whether consensual or otherwise, from the beginning of the
client/therapist relationship and for a minimum of six months after the
termination of the client/therapist relationship, unless an ongoing current
sexual relationship existed prior to the date the therapeutic relationship
began. In the case of a pre-existing ongoing sexual relationship, providing
therapeutic massage and bodywork on such a person is discouraged, but may be
done with informed consent which acknowledges the power differential in a
therapeutic relationship and the complexities of dual relationships;
(b) in the event the client initiates sexual
behavior, interrupt therapy to clarify the purpose of the therapeutic session.
Provided that the client's initial sexual behavior ceases, the licensee may, at
the licensee's discretion, take action to terminate or continue the session.
The licensee shall terminate the session if the sexual conduct continues;
(c) with the exception of a
pre-existing ongoing sexual relationship, as set forth in (a), recognize that
sexual activity with clients, students, employees, supervisees, mentees,
trainees, or anyone else with whom a power differential exists, is prohibited
even if consensual;
(d) not touch
the genitalia;
(e) only perform
therapeutic treatments beyond the normal narrowing of the ear canal and normal
narrowing of the nasal passages:
(i) as
indicated in the plan of care;
(ii)
after receiving informed voluntary written consent;
(iii) only if the licensee is expressly
authorized under state law;
(f) only perform therapeutic treatments in
the oral cavity:
(i) as indicated in the plan
of care;
(ii) after receiving
informed voluntary written consent;
(iii) only if the licensee is permitted to do
so under state law;
(g)
only perform therapeutic treatments into the anal canal:
(i) as indicated in the plan of care;
(ii) after receiving informed
voluntary written consent; and
(iii) only if the licensee is expressly
authorized under state law; and
(h) only provide therapeutic breast massage:
(i) as indicated in the plan of care;
(ii) after receiving informed
voluntary written consent;
(iii)
only if the licensee is permitted to do so under state law.
(7) Any violation of this rule is
unprofessional conduct and may subject a licensee to disciplinary
proceedings.
AUTH:
37-1-131,
37-1-136,
37-1-319, MCA;
IMP:
37-1-131,
37-1-136,
37-1-319,
MCA