The Therapeutic Relationship 4/6/21

A practitioner who assumes his client is having low-back pain, when actually it is the practitioner whose low back is in pain, is demonstrating?

Countertransference

Jane encourages her client Rick to practice yoga 3 times per week and see her for a weekly massage session. She gets frustrated when he admits to vigorous weight lifting and only wants one massage per month. Which term best describes Jane's reaction?

Countertransference

During his massage sessions, Jack talks and tells jokes constantly, even when Kathy, his practitioner, directs him to tune into his body and take deep breaths to release tension. This could be an example of the psychological defense of?

Deflection

Ignoring input that triggers difficult emotions in order to avoid full awareness of the cause of those emotions is known as?

Deflection

A client who insists that the pressure is comfortable, even though she is visibly grimacing and tensing her muscles, is exhibiting?

Denial

A psychological defense that involves the outright refusal to acknowledge something that has occurred, or is occurring, is called?

Denial

The authority the client gives the practitioner based on the assumption that the practitioner is a skilled health-care provider is referred to as the?

Power differential

Countertransference is when this person grants inappropriate or misplaced importance on the therapeutic relationship?

Practitioner

The client is generally more vulnerable in the therapeutic relationship, while the practitioner is seen as more powerful. This dynamic is known as?

A power differential

Define the term: Therapeutic relationship?

A professional partnership between therapist and client where safe, structured touch helps the client achieve reasonable, well-defined goals.

Define the term: Resistance

A psychological defense that involves an unconscious opposition to the therapeutic process related to a client's feeling that change, even change perceived as desirable, is threatening. This psychological defense may show up as missed appointments, canceled appointments, a seeming unwillingness to participate in self-care, and other behaviors.

Define the term: Deflection?

A psychological defense that involves ignoring or turning away from stimuli that trigger emotions in order to prevent recognition, or full awareness of, the material associated with the emotion. For example, a client might talk continually during a massage session to avoid paying too much attention to his or her feelings brought about by massage, etc.

Define the term: Suppression?

A psychological defense that involves the conscious pushing down of anxiety-producing ideas, urges, desires, feelings, or memories. For example, the client may recognize a tender feeling during a massage session, but tenses muscles and actively dismisses the feeling in order to avoid expressing or showing sadness during the massage.

Define the term: Denial

A psychological defense that involves the outright refusal to acknowledge something that has occurred or is occurring. For example, a client might deny that a technique is painful or that feelings are arising during bodywork. A client might deny that a lifestyle choice is impeding healing from a soft-tissue injury, etc.

Define the term: Projection?

A psychological defense that involves the unconscious transfer of feelings, impulses, or thoughts to someone else. For example, a client might project an unrealistic expectation that one session of massage will solve years of cumulative stress, or a client might confer his/her power to heal from a condition onto a massage therapist, etc.

Define the term: Countertransference?

A redirection of feelings, in which a therapist tries to personalize an otherwise professional relationship with a client; opposite of transference.

Define the term: Emotional release?

A rise of feelings within a client and the expression of those feelings through words or other forms of expression.

Define the term: Transference?

A subconscious psychological phenomenon where the client places the therapist in a place of importance in his/her personal life, beyond professional boundaries.

Define the term: Client-centered session?

A massage session in which the therapist commits to the client's overall well-being and benefit.

When clients experience transference, they may?

Attempt to establish the practitioner in a place of importance in their personal life

Focusing on whatever is in the best interest of the client's well-being is known as?

Client-centered care

Massage may counteract the psychological defense of armoring. This means that?

Clients come into full contact with their repressed or deflected feelings as their muscular tension is reduced by massage

A rise of feelings within a client and the expression of those feelings through words or other forms of expression is known as?

Emotional release

The skill of recognizing, processing, and managing emotions in oneself and others is referred to as emotional?

Intelligence

In a client-centered session?

Massage is provided with the client's wants and needs at the forefront

Define the term: Psychological defenses?

Mental processes that enable the mind to deal with conflicts it can't resolve. Every person learns some type of psychological defense from normal experiences of life. Common psychological defenses that occur during massage sessions include suppression, denial, projection, deflection, resistance, and armoring.

Define the term: Professional conduct?

Positively representing the massage profession by maintaining standards of practice and demonstrating ethical behavior.

Define the term: Emotional release process?

Phases of a client's emotional expression, and the way in which the therapist manages his/her own reaction while maintaining a therapeutic environment.

"Armoring" describes the use of this to support mental coping mechanisms?

Physical tension

A psychological defense that involves the unconscious transfer of feelings, impulses, or thoughts to someone else?

Projection

Harboring unrealistic expectations, such as "this massage will fix everything that's wrong with my life," is an example of?

Projection

When Jenny leaves the massage clinic to move on to a new career opportunity, her client becomes very upset. She insists that she can't recover from her sports injury without Jenny. This is an example of?

Projection

Any mental process that allows the mind to deal with conflicts that can't be immediately resolved is classified as a?

Psychological defense mechanism

The mutual trust and understanding established between practitioner and client at every stage of a massage session is known as?

Rapport

A client who claims to be committed to weekly massage, but then constantly cancels at the last minute is exhibiting what type of defense?

Resistance

Sometimes clients perceive change, even desirable change, as threatening. This might result in the psychological defense of?

Resistance

Define the term: Ethical professional touch?

Skilled, purposeful, respectful touch that holds healing intent.

A psychological defense that involves the conscious pushing down of anxiety-producing ideas, urges, desires, feelings or memories is?

Suppression

The conscious decision to push away difficult emotions or anxiety-producing thoughts is called?

Suppression

Sloppy draping, inattention to a client's comfort level, and the inability to meet a client's appropriate wants and needs are indicators of?

Unethical, unprofessional touch

Define the term: Emotional intelligence?

The ability to observe one's own feelings and emotions and those of others, to differentiate among them, and utilize them to direct thoughts and behavior.

Define the term: Power differentia?

The authority a massage therapist is granted by a client, based on the client's perception of the massage therapist as a knowledgeable and skilled health-care provider.

Define the term: Rapport?

The friendly bond between people based on mutual liking, trust, and a sense that they understand and share each other's concerns. In a therapeutic relationship, a practitioner builds rapport by treating clients warmly and respectfully while maintaining appropriate professional boundaries.

Define the term: Therapeutic intent?

The intent to promote healing and overall benefit for the client.

Client behaviors can sometimes lead practitioners to feel frustrated, angry, or hostile. These feelings toward a client become unethical when?

The pracititioner is unable to release them in order to provide a professional massage, or fails to refer the client to someone else

Define the term: Practitioner responsibilities?

The practitioner's duty during a session is to uphold ethical standards of behavior, not work outside the massage therapy scope of practice, and provide a nonjudgmental environment where clients feel safe. Practitioners should refer clients to other health-care professionals when client's needs exceed the limits of the massage therapy scope of practice.

Define the term: Armoring?

The use of physical tension to support psychological defenses. When massage reduces tension, tissues soften, and armoring comes undone. As a result, people may come into full contact with their repressed or deflected feelings and experience an emotional release.

A client who brings gifts at every session, in addition to payment, is exhibiting?

Transference

When a client asks a practitioner numerous questions about his/her personal life and discloses very personal information during sessions, it is an example of?

Transference

When a client invites the practitioner out to social engagements or seeks friendship, it is an example of?

Transference

Which of the following is an example of transference?

When the client mentions that acupuncture has helped, the practitioner claims this will only worsen his symptoms

One indication of unethical, unprofessional touch is?

When the practitioner is angry or frustrated with the client & can't drop it before providing massage