It’s time the name ‘therapist’ became a protected title

One of the reasons the spa environment is so special and so healing is because it is also a place where everyone involved is vulnerable on multiple levels.

You can't create a space for healing without a degree of vulnerability; that's the reason that respect and protocols are so important, it's the reason employers need to take a proactive role in supporting their teams, and it's also the reason that this is an industry that attracts people who are not merely seeking a job but a purpose.

Unfortunately, that mindset can also leave the industry open to all manner of abuses, ranging from practitioners with no qualifications to qualifications without accreditation and, in the most appalling report of late, sexual abuse. That can happen both to clients and to therapists.

Abuse in the spa industry

The BBC ran a story in July about Callum Urquhart, who had started advertising massage services at his home, with no qualifications, and where he went on to sexually assault four women. The BBC also "found more than a dozen criminal cases involving offenders using the massage industry to rape and sexually assault clients in the last six years." It's not the only report of the kind, similar stories have emerged over the years about therapists in a variety of spa and wellbeing environments who have been charged with various degrees of misconduct.

From the other side of the spectrum, therapists themselves are also vulnerable to sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour. A survey in 2018 found that 74% of 180 respondents had experienced some form of sexual harassment during their career.

This is very much the worst of the worst in terms of a lack of regulation in the spa industry, but it isn't the only area where an abuse of trust can emerge.

Qualified therapists are enormously valuable?

Practising touch therapies and beauty treatments is a skill - one that people work hard to learn and hone. Those who develop their skills are truly special people delivering meaningful and important experiences.

Treatments that are designed by those who have the training to do so are also unique and intentional - they are targeted, and they are specifically designed to address certain needs or generate particular results. When therapists learn in these training sessions, they don't just learn about massage technique, they also learn about communicating with clients in the spa environment - especially where particular vulnerabilities are concerned - it's an exercise in empathy as well as skill.

That's why in creating my new Hormonal Balance spa treatments for menopause recently, we also included a coaching and mentoring programme to support communication around menopause. Equally, in our oncology touch treatments, we educate in the biology of cancer and cancer treatments so therapists have an understanding of the treatments clients are going through.

However, under current UK regulations, massage therapists do not need a licence, or any formal training, to start practising massage, so anyone can set themselves up as a therapist as the title is not protected.

Protecting spa therapists and spa clients

Protecting spa therapists in the workplace is essential. Protecting clients in the spa environment is essential. Protecting the integrity of professionally trained practitioners is also essential. There should be appropriate regulation and standards to help support and attest to qualifications and reasonable measures for the safety of all in the spa and wellbeing environment.

However, that isn't to say there are no safeguards whatsoever in the spa environment. For example:?

• From a training perspective, when therapists are seeking out reputable trainers, they can look out for accreditations from reputable bodies like the Federation of Holistic Therapists.
• Clients can also ask practitioners for proof of training, and indeed it benefits spas and therapists to display their qualifications where possible within the spa environment.
• Spa therapists should have professional liability insurance in order to practice massage and other touch treatments and they should have to show proof of their qualifications in order to see that. If you are anxious before visiting a therapist, there's no reason you shouldn't ask for proof of insurance.
• From a professional safety perspective, employers should have clear processes and procedures in place to identify and protect against inappropriate behaviour in the workplace. Therapists need to know they have the support of management. These should be considered as part of your risk management assessments.
• From a client perspective, therapists should talk you through the treatment experience and if there is anything that you're uncomfortable with during your treatment you are entirely within your rights to ask them to stop.
• At Jennifer Young, all of our trained therapists are invited to feature on our Therapist Finder. If they're there, you can be secure in the knowledge that they have completed one of our fully accredited courses.

None of this is foolproof - it never is, and as therapist trainers who are sticklers for respect, propriety and appropriate training, it's mortifying to think that the industry can be undermined by the few in such an awful way. It’s time the name ‘therapist’ became a protected title - for everyone’s benefit.