Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/142672
have a separate entrance for clients or a way for them to get to your office without taking a tour through your private living space. Having a separate bathroom for clients is also ideal. The very best solution for working out of your home would be to have a studio—an office with a bathroom—in a separate building. Let the office be warm and inviting, but not overly personal. Wherever your office is, you want it to feel inviting to your clients, but not overwhelmingly personal. If you work out of your home, you don't want your office space to look like a bedroom with a massage table in it. Eliminate bedroom-type furniture and large numbers of personal pictures and other personal items. There's no harm in having a couple of family pictures in the room—in fact, it can be reassuring to clients to see that a practitioner is married or has children. Also, a picture of your partner or spouse may discourage a client from making romantic overtures. Similarly, avoid making your office into a display of your personal beliefs—political, spiritual, or otherwise. Clients may feel excluded if they don't share your beliefs, or they may be offended by them. Unless you're sure that everyone else in town is voting for the candidate you are, or shares the same spiritual path you do, keep it to yourself and avoid rubbing a client the wrong way. It may sound obvious, but keep your office space clean and tidy. Clients won't feel comfortable in unclean surroundings. Clients don't find it charming when the cat jumps on their bare back with sticky kittylittered feet (true story). Or the room is obviously dirty or the bathroom a mess. With so many new viruses and bacteria popping up these days, people are concerned about catching something. Find a balance between a room that smells antiseptic and one that feels as though germs may be lurking in every corner. The need for order and cleanliness in the environment can go deeper for some clients. People who grew up with the idea that bodies are "dirty" may be more sensitive when they come for bodywork. Clean, orderly surroundings can help them feel more at ease. Create Safety And Ease Working out of your home can be a viable solution, especially if it's an accepted practice in your community. If that's your choice, you need to be careful to assure clients of your professionalism in other ways. For your own sake as well as your client's, you have to draw a clear line between your work life and your personal life, putting your personal life as much in the background—or out of sight—as possible. Wherever you work, your focus needs to be on creating safety and ease for both you and your client. SPH Nina McIntosh published the groundbreaking book The Educated Heart in 1999. It was the first text on ethics and boundaries for the profession and has become a classic in the field. The third edition was published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins in 2010.