I had a new client in today. She was a referral from another client. She made an interesting comment after I had been working on her for a few minutes. She said that she felt totally at ease and felt secure trusting her body to my hands.
This was one of the nicest comments I have ever had, and I've had quite a few. But when you think about it, I hope all of my clients feel that way. I hope that they feel secure and safe.
As a massage therapist, the greatest compliment that someone can give is their trust, trust that I will help them, trust that I will treat them properly, and trust that I will be professional and ethical. By simply getting on a massage table, they are giving that trust. As a professional, I do everything I can to prove that the trust a client puts in me is well founded. I like to think that this is called doing the job properly with the proper intent and attitude. I also like to think that this is what happens with every client that gets on the table.
Trust is a part of informed consent. I hopefully set the client's expectations then live up to or exceed those expectations. Being able to do that builds the client's confidence in me as well as my own confidence in myself and my abilities. The confidence my clients have in me and the confidence I have in my self builds trust. That confidence shows up in the first few minutes of every session. Trust is built from there.
Trust is earned. I hope that I continue to earn that trust, and I will do my best with every session to do so.