Advanced Business Strategies: Holding Space Benefits Both Clients and Yourself

(Massage Magazine Column: "Advanced Business Strategies" June 30, 2023; Author Amy Bradley Radford)

How do we provide caring and compassionate touch for our clients while not taking on responsibilities we should not be? The answer lies in holding space—space contained by professional boundaries—which benefits the therapeutic relationship for both client and therapist.

When coaching others on how to run a successful massage business, I find many therapists on the brink of burnout. This exhaustion typically revolves around trying to figure out how to not give too much of ourselves to our clients or to not be taken advantage of by our clients—all while trying to follow professional boundaries and make money.

I have observed over and over again how these difficult boundaries issues impact personal time and scheduling, and can lead to loss of energy and emotional struggles.

Most of these boundary issues fit into two categories: What professional boundaries mean to the therapist; and not understanding how care and compassion fit in with those professional boundaries. (read more here....)