You've had a client who made you question everything. The one who pushed every boundary, ignored every cue, and left you wondering why you chose this profession.
This episode is about the time Tabitha was that client.
It was 2012. First week of massage school. Fresh off a car accident, a marriage in freefall, and a mild traumatic brain injury nobody had diagnosed yet. Twice a week at 8:30am, she showed up to her friend and soon-to-be instructor Brandon's table — third cup of coffee in, full emotional agenda ready — and unloaded. Every single time.
She thought she was a positive person. She thought she had it together. She was a codependent, after all.
The day Brandon quietly redirected her — "today we're just going to start with some breath" — she was furious, humiliated, and convinced he was breaking up with her as a client. Then he handed her a book and told her a story about a person sitting poolside, getting splashed, getting angry — and then standing up to finally see that the person in the water wasn't being inconsiderate.
They were drowning.
Thirteen years later, Tabitha still thinks about that story every single week. This episode is about what it taught her — about boundaries, about the neuroscience of trauma, about what it actually means to hold the container — and why the clients who push hardest are often the ones who need the line held most.
In This Episode
- The car accident that started everything — and the irony of a massage therapist getting hurt before massage school
- What a mild traumatic brain injury actually does to your perception of reality — and why it goes undiagnosed more often than you'd think
- Why the most dangerous clients are sometimes the ones who think they're totally fine
- The Real Love drowning story by Greg Baer — and why it reframes every annoying client you've ever had
- What happened when Brandon held the boundary — and why Tabitha came back anyway
- Why the therapeutic relationship has to be a relationship, not a friendship — and what it costs when the line gets blurry
- What it looks like to redirect a client with kindness, grace, and zero cruelty
Quote From This Episode
"I always had control over everything. I was a codependent, after all."
Resources Mentioned
- Real Love by Greg Baer, M.D. — the drowning story lives here. Worth reading. reallove.com
About Your Host
Tabitha MacDonald is a Licensed Massage Therapist, Intuitive Coach, and wellness entrepreneur with a brick and mortar clinic and an online program. She has been in the massage and wellness industry since 2002, full time since 2012. She helps massage therapists make more money doing what they love and stick around long enough to keep doing it.
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Coming Soon
A communication course built specifically for licensed massage therapists — including how to hold boundaries, redirect clients, and have the hard conversations without losing the relationship. More details coming soon. You're going to want to be first in line.