Providing therapies to the opposite sex: views of complementary therapists working in clinical and private practice settings.
OBJECTIVE
The study explored the experiences of working with the opposite sex as a therapists in a cancer care centre (CCC).


METHODS
Therapists (n = 17) participated in three focus groups. Audiotapes were transcribed verbatim and analysed.


RESULTS
Themes and sub-themes were identified; these related to maintaining safety, the relevance of location to how safe therapists felt when working with men, the therapeutic relationship, safety precautions and being vigilant.


CONCLUSIONS
The participants were from one cancer care centre in the North West of England. Only two males participated.


CONCLUSIONS
This exploratory study identified that the majority of the participants in this study had concerns about safety related to the gender or sex of their patient or client. This was more of an issue in private practice with concerns centred on inappropriate sexual responses from male clients. This has implications for training and safety in establishing and maintaining a practice.
Supportive Care & Smoking Cessation Team, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Wilmslow Road, Didsbury, Manchester M20 4BX, UK. Peter.Mackereth@christie.nhs.uk
Peter
P
Mackereth
Jagruti
J
Parekh
Graeme
G
Donald
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D000529:Complementary Therapies; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011331:Private Practice; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D012449:Safety; D012737:Sex Factors; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D055815:Young Adult