There is a therapist whose four page intake form is available on the web. The questions include marital status, number of children, interests and hobbies. It is hard to see how these are relevant to the professional client/therapist relationship.

Another application also wants to know the ages of the children, the employer’s name and address, the client’s Social Security number and the client’s driver’s license number. The form also asks for the client’s sex; it seems rather an unnecessary question under the circumstances.

A third form wants the spouse’s name, employer, address and phone of employer.

Is any of this information necessary to give a good treatment? It is unlikely, and may be just an aid for pretending to remember things about the client. On the other hand, it could be that these therapists are using forms that were meant for another type of business and do not make sense in a massage setting.

A more common question asks for the client’s home and business phones and e-mail address. In view of this ethic, it may be hard to justify acquiring even this information unless the client has paid by check, insurance is being billed or the data is required by local statute governing massage

What information is relevant to the professional client/therapist relationship? A (possibly detailed) questionnaire to see if the client admits to any of massage’s contraindications is relevant and probably ethically required. Massage in a medical setting under another professional’s supervision may, of course, require more rigorous documentation.

There are practical reasons for maintaining the least records necessary on clients. Records must be kept for at least 4 years. The more information kept, the larger the area and resources required for storage. If there is ever a breach in the therapist’s system and the records become public, the more information the therapist has, the bigger damage the client may suffer.

Conversation in the therapy room is the subject of diverse opinions. Some therapists feel that the client should set the tone for how much conversation occurs, after the talking over of consent issues occurs. Others (probably the majority) believe that too much conversation detracts from the relaxing purpose of the massage. One clinic is more forceful—they ask that conversation be confined to feedback about the massage. Another agrees that conversation should be related to the massage and adds that talking should be done in a whisper. One therapist even asks the client on the intake form whether conversation is preferred or not.

One massage school advocates chatting the client in “permission marketing” to obtain consent to add them to a mailing list. This may be a dubious practice, given this ethic.

So is it OK under this ethic to ask a stock broker client about market tips? Absent a ruling from the Board, the therapist will have to decide whether this is soliciting information or just general conversation to make the client feel comfortable. Probably such questions are best avoided.