For anyone searching for a qualified Massage Therapist it is wise to know the difference between a CMT [Certified Massage Therapist] and a LMT [Licensed Massage Therapist]

Certification differs from a license in that it's nearly always offered by a private, non-governmental agency --- such as a Massage School. These are usually professional associations [massage schools] which create certifying agencies to identify and acknowledge those who have met a standard. 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 is always based on the action of a legislative body.

A Massage Therapist learns the basics of massage therapy by attending a school. The school may meet certain requirements by the state to be an accredited school (see article to follow).

I would be very hesitant having anyone working on my body that was NOT trained by a massage school.

CMT - Certified Massage Therapist

A massage therapist that is a CMT [Certified Massage Therapist] may have 150 hours of training or up to 1,000 hours of training.

HINT#1
Ask your massage therapists how many hours of training they have completed. And, ask them if they take additional classes each year for additional training.

Here is a generalization of hours and time invested to become a CMT [Certified Massage Therapist]

Basic Training - 150 hours, about three months
[Think of a Hot Fudge Sundae without the whip cream or any extras]

Medium Range - 500 hours, one to two years
The massage therapist that has over 150 hours of training will know more techniques and probably some training in deep tissue work (More apt for getting the knots out of your back)
[Think of a Hot Fudge Sundae with whip cream and nuts sprinkled on top]

Higher Range - 1,000 hours, about two years or more
The massage therapist is very well trained and should be very familiar with multiple techniques.
[Think of a Hot Fudge Sundae with whip cream, pistachio nuts, a delicate sugar cookie and a cherry on top]

Massage therapists with Basic Training can do an OK massage but may not have enough training to do detail massage work.

Massage therapists in the Medium Range have an average of 250 to 350 hours of training and are very qualified and skilled to work with clients.

Massage therapists in the Higher Range have skills for doing very detailed work.

LMT - Licensed Massage Therapist (Licensing)

NOT all states require Massage Therapists to be licensed.

As of 2007 the following states require Massage Therapists to be licensed:

States not listed above currently have no active state-wide regulations. As an example, California has no state licensing, but may require a city business license where the therapist practices.

States that do require licensing usually require massage therapists to include their license number in all forms of advertising.

On the average, most states listed above require 500 hours. As of 2007, Texas only requires 250 hours and New York had the highest with 1000 hours. Over half of the states required certification from NCBTMB (see below).

Although there is NO government national licensing guidelines, you may find several independent, private, organizations that have created their own set of standards and code of conduct.

Here are two organizations:

National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork
NCBTMB is an independent, private, nonprofit organization formed to set high standards of ethical and professional practice through a recognized, credible credentialing program.

American Massage Therapy Association®
AMTA represents more than 56,000 massage therapists. AMTA works to establish massage therapy as integral to the maintenance of good health and complementary to other therapeutic processes; to advance the profession through ethics and standards, continuing education, professional publications, legislative efforts, public education, and fostering the development of members.

HINT#2
Not all massage therapists are licensed - even if their city or state requires it. A license does not mean the massage therapist is more or less trained --- or qualified to work with clients. A license is a requirement to do business in a city or state.

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.

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.

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