Although regulation can sometimes be confusing and frustrating, legal recognition of the massage therapy profession is good for everyone.
By Camille Hoheb
You know massage therapy can help people, but you are also aware that getting people to truly understand the massage therapy profession can be difficult.
Misconceptions abound, and changing people’s perspective isn’t easy. But with more and more consumers seeking out massage therapy, having a clear, easy way to define your profession is important.
Regulation is a good foundation to stand on when you’re trying to educate consumers. Having laws in place that work to protect your clients and raise the reputation of the massage profession can be invaluable to massage therapists who are working to bring the benefits of massage to more people.
Getting sensible laws passed, though, is key. To do this, massage therapists need to understand the current regulatory climate, as well as some of the things they can do to move the profession forward.
Making Sense
Although the idea of regulation always makes sense, the practical application can be more complex. Ideally, laws regarding the massage therapy profession should help bolster the profession’s reputation, providing for minimum competency standards and educating consumers on the benefits of massage therapy.
Unfortunately, the reality of regulation isn’t always so kind.
In many areas, local regulation for massage therapy is a hodgepodge of laws. Even today, there are cities that still single out massage therapy as a source of prostitution, categorizing legitimate massage practices as “adult entertainment.” Erroneous business classifications and sometimes prohibitive fees make it difficult for massage therapists to open and maintain a practice.
“In 1994, all massage therapists were required to get fingerprinted and have their mug shots taken by the local police department,” explains Felicia Brown, a licensed massage therapist in North Carolina. “We were also required to show proof that we were free of communicable diseases.”
Other times, the licensing process is so complex, massage therapists have to negotiate a seemingly endless line of red tape.
“It took me almost six weeks to obtain my license in San Francisco,” says Leslie Z. Hollingsworth, who owns the San Francisco Massage Supply Co. “I had to make five trips to city hall, one to the department of health and another to the hall of justice for paperwork, mug shots, fingerprinting and a background check.”
Bruce Carpman, owner of an Elements Therapeutic Massage in Royal Oak, Michigan, had no idea he’d be closing his business before he ever really had the opportunity to open. The day he was scheduled to open, a city inspector visited to tell him the staff members weren’t properly licensed. Although Carpman had a business license, Royal Oak categorizes massage therapy as adult entertainment and requires every massage therapist to be individually licensed, a process that includes a police background check. But getting those individual licenses proved cumbersome.
“The city commission was very specific in needing to know for certain that we were closed and out of business,” Carpman explains. “Then, and only then, did they grant a license to the massage therapists I had hired.” Waiting a month after the original closure for these issues to be cleared up, though, has made it difficult for Carpman to get his business off the ground.
For massage therapists just entering the profession, some of these difficulties may be a real obstacle. “The lack of continuity among city regulations presents one of the greatest challenges for anyone graduating from a massage therapy program in California,” says Karyn Laitis, executive director of Marinello Schools in California and Nevada. “A new graduate may have to have multiple permits to cover a 10 to 15 mile radius, and these permits can be costly.”
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American Massage Therapy Association®
