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Finding A Massage Therapist
Ok, so you gathered as much information
as you can. Talk to several massage therapists. Find out how
many hours of training they have completed. Use the general guidelines
for a CMT as a range for finding a massage therapists [ 150 hours
- 500 hours - 1000 hours ].
Ask them how many years they
have been working with clients. Next, what does your gut (first
impression) say about this person? Go with your first impression
and book an appointment --- or not.
Last, very important, you arrive
on time or a little early. As the massage session begins, if
at any time during your session something does not feel right,
then stop the massage. Discuss your concerns with the massage
therapists or simply say this is not what you expected and leave.
As a trained massage therapist
I would like to make it clear that a massage session does not
make you obligated to endure a massage that doesn't feel right
or is not what you expected. This seldom happens if you take
the time to talk with your massage therapist before booking the
appointment. You may be obligated to pay for part or all of the
session, but at least you can leave knowing that you did the
right thing.
What are Certification, Licensing, and Accreditation?
Reprinted from the American
Massage Therapy Association
The term certification is often used as a catch-all term for
several different activities that apply to the credentialing
of individuals and institutions. This fuzziness of definition
has resulted in confusion when it comes to discussing credentials.
This article is intended to provide more clarity on the subject.
Certification is essentially
the process of publicly attesting that a specified quality or
standard has been achieved or exceeded. We see this in an informal
way all around us nearly every day. For example, when a product
has the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval, it means that the
item has been attested to meet the standard set for it. Whenever
we make a recommendation or referral to a colleague or client
we are informally certifying the competence of the person or
the quality of the item being recommended.
Professional certification uses
a formal process to identify and acknowledge individuals who
have met a recognized standard. Usually this standard includes
education, experience, and an exam of knowledge, skills, and
abilities needed to perform the job. When an individual meets
the standard, he or she receives certification from a certifying
agency. The credibility and integrity of the certifying agency
determines whether the agency's certification means anything
to the public, and therefore, ultimately, its value. Accordingly,
certification agencies may seek out recognition by an outside
agency that will, in turn, attest to the certifying agency meeting
a standard. Generally, this standard involves the qualification
requirements to take the exam, whether the exam meets accepted
psychometric standards for exam development, how the exam is
given and scored, how the agency is administered, and whether
its rules are fair. The National Organization for Competency
Assurance operates the National Commission for Certifying Agencies
for that purpose.
Professional certification is
a voluntary process by which a non-governmental professional
organization grants recognition to an individual who has met
certain qualifications. It is a credential which attests that
the individual has demonstrated a certain level of mastery of
a specific body of knowledge and skills within the relevant field
of practice. Certification should not be confused with either
licensing or accreditation. While each involves some type of
evaluation and the awarding of some type of credential, they
are quite different from one another and the terms should not
be used interchangeably.
Licensure is a non-voluntary
process by which an agency of government regulates a profession.
It grants permission to an individual to engage in an occupation
if it finds that the applicant has attained the degree of competency
required to ensure the public health, safety, and welfare will
be reasonably protected. Licensing it always based on the action
of a legislative body. Once a licensing law has been passed it
becomes illegal for anyone to engage in that occupation unless
he or she has a license. The health care professions are typically
licensed at the state and/or local level, but not usually at
the federal level.
Two regulatory variations are
state certification (not to be confused with professional certification
referred to elsewhere in this article) and registration. These
generally are somewhat less restrictive than licensing, but how
each is defined exactly can vary from state to state.
Certification differs from licensing
in that it is nearly always offered by a private, non-governmental
agency. Such agencies are usually outgrowths of professional
associations which create certifying agencies to identify and
acknowledge those who have met a standard. Another contrast with
licensure is that, under a licensing law, practitioners of the
licensed occupation must have a license in order to practice.
It is involuntary. On the other hand, certification is voluntary.
One does not have to be certified in order to practice. An individual
takes the certification exam because they want to enjoy the benefits
of certification. However, to use the title and initials copyrighted
and associated with the professional certification, one must
be certified.
Accreditation is a non-governmental,
voluntary process that evaluates institutions, agencies, and
educational programs, (i.e., institutions that grant certificates
or diplomas) while certification and licensing involves individual
practitioners. Accreditation is defined as the process whereby
an agency or association grants public recognition to a school,
institute, college, university, or specialized program of study
(such as a massage training program) for having met certain established
qualifications or standards as determined through initial and
periodic evaluations that usually involve submitting a self-evaluation
report, site inspection by a team of experts, and evaluation
by an independent board or commission.
© American Massage Therapy
Association
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