The theory behind cuddle therapy is that people feel increasingly isolated and disconnected.
Professional cuddling can be one-on-one or in "cuddle parties," where people wear pajamas, eat snacks, chat and snuggle.
Professional cuddling – essentially paying someone to snuggle in a consensual, non-sexual manner – has been around about two decades. The cuddling controversy also illustrates how one type of therapy may be regulated and licensed while another, newer concept – that also involves close body contact – is not. The unusual complaint underscores the limits of state regulatory boards. The board found no violation of massage practice but ordered Woodward to separate her cuddling business from her massage business, including maintaining separate websites to avoid confusion. It's illegal for massage therapists to engage in sexual activity with clients.īut Woodward's attorney, Flynn Carey, argued before the Arizona State Board of Massage Therapy that cuddling is beyond the board's regulatory authority because the woman was a cuddle client, not a massage client.Ĭarey told the board that if they took jurisdiction of the matter, "you are actually going to be now the massage therapy board and the cuddle therapy board." It promptly decertified the cuddler, Susanne Woodward, for breaking its code of conduct.įinally, she filed a complaint with the state board that regulates massage because the cuddler is also a massage therapist. She called a national group that certifies cuddlers. She called police, who told her that nothing illegal had happened. She wound up with the cuddler's nipple in her mouth for five minutes.
PHOENIX – In new age America, if you need emotional comfort, you can pay someone to cuddle you.īut where do you complain if a cuddling session goes too far?Ī Phoenix woman says it happened to her in May when she visited an $80-a-session cuddle therapist and the session turned sexual. Watch Video: Cuddle therapy: What you should know
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