Code Orange: How to Handle Inappropriate Client Conduct

Setting high standards for LMT professionals' expectations around boundary violations + informative script for leadership, non-massage staff.

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1.

Code Orange Protocol:

Navigating Boundary Violations

This protocol outlines the essential verbiage, procedures, and professional discretion required for massage therapists to manage sessions infiltrated by sexual innuendo or inappropriate conduct. This training is non-negotiable for protecting your safety, your license, and our practice's reputation. Knowing these steps ensures you are prepared to act decisively and professionally when boundaries are crossed.

As professional massage therapists, we dedicate our careers to therapeutic touch, healing, and client wellness. We enter the session room with the intention of providing a safe, professional, and respectful environment. While the vast majority of our clients are wonderful and uphold this atmosphere, every therapist knows that rare, difficult situations can occur.

When a client's behavior crosses the line into sexual innuendo, inappropriate mannerisms, or degrading conduct, it is an absolute breach of professional boundaries. This is not a situation any therapist should ever have to manage alone, and it requires a clear, professional protocol.

We call this scenario a "Code Orange," and understanding the proper steps is vital for protecting your license, your business, and your own well-being.

Recognizing the Breach: What Constitutes a "Code Orange"?

A "Code Orange" refers to any client interaction—verbal, nonverbal, or physical—that shifts the focus away from therapeutic massage and toward an inappropriate, sexual, or otherwise unprofessional context.

This might look like:

• Directing attention toward non-massaged areas (groin, genitals, upper chest/breasts) through movement or suggestion.

• Verbal comments that slide into innuendo, are overly suggestive, or become explicitly sexual.

• Unprofessional requests, such as asking for work in an erotic manner or demanding a nude massage.

• Inappropriate touching or conduct directed toward the therapist.

It's important to remember that this can happen with a new client or a long-time recurring client who has never behaved this way before. As the therapist, you are the most trusted judge of the situation. If you feel misconduct is occurring, your assessment is valid.

Your Right and Responsibility: Ending the Session

Every massage therapist has the right to end a session at any time, for any reason. When confronted with misconduct, you are encouraged to follow these steps:

Step 1: Attempt Redirection (Use Your Discretion)

Many therapists are trained to first attempt a single redirection—a subtle, professional cue to bring the session focus back to the therapeutic purpose. This offers the client a single benefit of the doubt.

Step 2: End the Session

If the inappropriate action is repeated, or if the conduct is egregious, the session must be ended immediately.

• Stop the massage, step away from the table, and verbally end the session in a professional, neutral tone.

• Leave the room quickly and calmly. Your safety and well-being are the absolute priority.

The Code Orange Protocol: Post-Session Steps

When you leave the room due to misconduct, your next steps must be focused on verification, support, and documentation.

1. Alert Onsite Support

Immediately link up with the highest-ranking onsite co-worker or manager (e.g., building management, front desk team). Briefly explain that you have ended the session due to a Code Orange. Do not discuss the incident's details yet. The goal of this initial link-up is to get immediate backup and support to safely conclude the client interaction.

2. Client Clearance and Payment

Your onsite support should help ensure the client has safely and completely left the massage room and exited the building.

• Payment in Full: While each incident is unique, standard practice is to request payment in full for the scheduled session. The decision to waive payment should be left to the discretion of the therapist and the onsite manager, but the client must leave.

3. Detailed Reporting

Once the client has left and your safety is verified:

• Contact Your Manager: Call your direct manager/team leader immediately to verbally report the incident.

• Detailed Documentation: Write a detailed record of the incident in an email to your management team. Include what was said/done, how you responded, and the exact time the session ended.

Your manager will then handle all future interactions with that individual. Clients who violate professional boundaries will be released as clients and will not be permitted to book future appointments.

Setting the Standard for Professionalism

We work to build great relationships based on trust and mutual respect. However, we cannot assume everyone shares the same intentions.

Maintaining a clear policy, a firm standard of conduct, and a procedure like the "Code Orange" is critical for upholding your standard of excellence and professionalism. Having a clear policy—and communicating it to clients via an intake and liability form—ensures that everyone is on the same page from the moment they book.

Thank you for your professionalism. Know that your team supports your discretion and stands ready to back you up when you make the difficult, necessary choice to prioritize safety.

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2.

Understanding Therapist Safety

The Partner's Commitment: Essential Backup for "Code Orange"

This section is for our business partners (front desk, building management, corporate teams, etc.) to define their non-negotiable role in the "Code Orange" protocol. Their participation is essential for safety and ensures the integrity of our professional environment. When a therapist must confront a client's suggested or aggressive boundary violation, this immediate, firm backup is paramount for minimizing the emotional toll—including offense, disappointment, and personal triggers—that such misconduct inflicts.

The Reality of the Risk

We want to be perfectly clear: The vast majority of our clients are respectful and follow our professional guidelines. When a "Code Orange" event occurs, it is an atypical, often unsettling, and highly impactful situation for the therapist.

• This is Not the Therapist's Fault: Sexual misconduct, innuendo, or suggestive behavior is a boundary violation committed by the client. It is never the masseuse's fault, regardless of how the client attempts to redirect the blame or shame.

• The Therapist is Trained and Trusted: Our massage professionals are trained to operate with the highest level of discretion and professionalism. When they end a session, it is because they have accurately assessed a situation as inappropriate, degrading, or sexually suggestive. You must trust the therapist's assessment completely. Most clients are neutral and respectful; when a client is suggestive, it is usually clearly apparent to the trained professional.

Our Expectation of Strict, Unwavering Support

When a therapist declares a "Code Orange" and leaves the room, your only and most immediate priority is to provide backup and logistical support. We expect all partners and non-massaging team members to adhere to the following:

1. Trust and Validation

Do not question the therapist's decision. Your first and only response should be: "I've got your back. Tell me what you need to safely complete this interaction." We are protecting the masseuse, their license, our business integrity, and the safety of our entire operation.

2. Immediate Logistical Assistance

The therapist should not have to manage the fallout of an inappropriate client. That is your job. Your support ensures the client has safely left the massage room, paid, and/or exited the building or property. This logistical management removes the therapist from a potentially stressful, confrontational, or unsafe situation.

3. Maintain Discretion

When the therapist first links in, they will only state they have ended a session due to a Code Orange. We require our partners to:

• Avoid discussing details of the incident with the client or any other non-essential personnel.

• Focus strictly on the business transaction—payment and exit—to conclude the interaction with the client efficiently and professionally.

4. Full Commitment to Policy

Any client released for misconduct will not be permitted to book future appointments. We use clear intake and liability forms that state our policies and standards of conduct. This formality allows everyone to have absolute clarity around our standard of excellence and professionalism.

Our massage therapists provide a valuable, professional service in an environment we commit to making safe. We rely on our partners to uphold this commitment without exception. Thank you for maintaining this reasonable expectation of safety and support in our workplace.