The responsibility of regulating industries that impact health and wellness generally falls to the states. Federal law does not define or regulate the massage therapy industry, though 37 states have passed massage therapy acts that establish rules and provide enforcement mechanisms for offenders. The laws are similar to one another across the states, but some differences exist, so massage therapists must know which rules govern their jurisdiction. Some municipalities add additional requirements or restrictions, so thorough study of all applicable massage therapy acts in a given locality is a must for therapists wishing to remain on the right side of the law.
History
The oldest continuing national association of massage therapists is the American Massage Therapy Association, or AMTA, founded in 1943. In the late 1980s, the AMTA created a steering committee whose objective, initially, was to conceive of a standard test for membership, but the effort evolved into a political fight for national licensure. The movement was motivated by a desire for the credibility afforded by a nationally recognized licensing board, according to Julie Onofrio a 20-year veteran of the industry and editor of thebodyworker.com.
Politics
Efforts to push for national licensure and guidelines have met resistance from state-level governments, while municipalities have continued to fight to wrest control of the industry back from the state Capitols. In California, for example, a bill in the state House of Representatives, in suspension as of 2010, seeks to overturn California's recent move to state-level licensing, which sent fees associated with licensure to state coffers rather than municipal balance sheets.
Complicating efforts to move for a Massage Therapy Act at the national level is the continuing assumption that massage therapy is linked to prostitution and other illegal behavior. It's a common misconception about the industry, and local regulations and licensing requirements in some jurisdictions reflect the belief that massage centers are houses of vice, and that reputable uses of massage as complementary and alternative medicine, or CAM, are the exception, not the rule.
Licensure
Massage Therapy Acts passed in state legislatures have helped to unify requirements. Prior to state licensing in California, for example, a therapist in Beverly Hills was governed by different education and licensing requirements than someone practicing in a spa two blocks away in greater Los Angeles, according to Christie Lynn Ausbrooks, a licensed massage therapist, or LMT, who works both inside and outside Beverly Hills.
Forty states now regulate massage at the state level, according to Onofrio. Therapists are required by most states to meet a minimum number of hours of schooling, take a written exam, perform a practical exam and undergo a background check. Some states also mandate a minimum number of hours of continuing education per licensing period.
National Certification
The AMTA's efforts in the late 1980s and early 1990s resulted in a national certification board to establish licensing requirements. The National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork, or NCBTMB, issues certificates to qualified applicants who have completed at least 500 hours of schooling, completed a standardized exam and sworn to uphold the board's standards of professional ethics.
The NCBTMB provides therapists with a measure of credibility, but it does not supersede additional requirements that state boards may impose. As of 2010, the 40 states that regulate massage from state Capitols recognize the exam, but applicants for a license in those states can bypass the state exams required of uncertified applicants.
Distinctions
In the absence of a national Massage Therapy Act, a national certification is not a license to practice massage. New therapists confused about the distinction between licensing and certification should study the requirements in their states before deciding to seek national certification from the NCBTMB. Many states will license therapists with fewer hours of schooling, for example, so if you want to get busy working right away, you can delay taking the national exam until you get some experience and had a chance to augment your initial massage school hours with additional hours of continuing education. The difference between the NCBTMB requirements of 500 hours and the number required by many state boards can be as much as 200 hours.
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