AHL 300 - Health, Safety & Ethics for Massage Therapy

4.4 Continuing Education Units (CEU). This course is not for Credit(s).

This course is designed to enable the students to learn how to make informed decisions while providing quality therapeutic care in a safe and healthy environment. Students will not only develop ideas about wellness as it relates to the application of massage therapy and the benefits of providing restorative techniques, but will also develop effective methods of communication. Students will explore the mind-body connection and develop efficient breathing techniques that can be applied to clients in treatment. Students will develop healthy and effective methods of communication while considering ideologies from various cultures and backgrounds, and will also determine how professionalism is reflected in the make-up of the therapeutic massage practitioner. Case profiles will be reviewed in order to develop observations and promote reflective thinking. Topics to be covered include Health and Hygiene, Disease Prevention & Awareness, Therapeutic Safety in the Massage Practice, and Ethical Considerations for the Massage Therapist.

Course Objectives

Upon completion of this course the student will be able to:

1. define common contagious and/or communicable diseases and recognize how it relates to the massage therapy professional;
2. analyze the signs and symptoms of commonly encountered communicable diseases for massage therapists;
3. create and develop a safe and effective therapeutic environment for massage therapy application when communicable diseases may be present;
4. identify and apply restorative techniques within a wellness-minded framework and in a therapeutic massage environment;
5. define key terms and concepts of ethical behaviors for massage therapists;
6. distinguish between a variety of ethical scenarios and create a more expansive viewpoint in how to navigate them;
7. analyze challenging situations and apply a framework of decision-making processes in order to respond more ethically and professionally within a therapeutic massage environment; and
8. examine the use of social media and other internet/electronically based platforms for client communication, marketing, and other related features that can affect ethical practices.