Savage Love Letter of the Day: LMPs Say Thanks

This column is making the rounds among LMPs on Facebook today.

As a former LMP and massage educator, I just want to say thank you for the intelligent response you gave. Trying to explain this sort of situation to massage students, massage therapists, and massage consumers can be crazy making for so many of us. The knee jerk response is always a “wink and a nod” when it comes to sex and massage therapy and it’s difficult to get consumers to report this sort of behavior when it occurs. The vast majority of massage therapists are skilled professional health care workers so when one of them steps out of bounds, we want to see them out of the profession and prosecuted as quickly as possible. Protection of the public is a part of our ethical standards. Sexual predators will continue to exploit the power differential for as long as possible, often for years, before they are turned in.

In WA state, LMPs are licensed by the Department of Health. Any time a consumer feels that their therapist has touched them inappropriately, the DOH will investigate thoroughly. They take this sort of complaint very very seriously and it is the number one reason that consumers will file a complaint. The person reporting the incident is protected from retribution by the therapist.

Thank you again for your column. I’ll be passing it along to colleagues across the country (and the globe).

My very deepest thanks,

K.W.