01/07/2008
Massachusetts Licensing Update
The Board of Registration of Massage Therapy is now accepting applications for a state license to practice massage therapy. Municipalities will no longer have jurisdiction over issuing licenses to massage therapists. The state board has sent a letter explaining this change in the governmental oversight of massage therapy to Municipal Health Authorities in Massachusetts.
There is a great deal of information on the Board’s website, www.mass.gov/dpl/boards/mt.
ABMP encourages members to apply as soon as possible. Begin by thoroughly reading the Instructions for License Application located at the link above. This document gives you step-by-step instructions. It does not appear be a difficult process. The quickest route to licensure is via the grandfathering provision. You can qualify under this provision prior to May 1, 2008, if you meet any of these three options:
- You have held a massage therapy license in a Massachusetts community within the last 2 years (usually issued by the Municipal Board of Health), or
- You are certified by the National Certification Board of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork, or
- You have provided 500 hours of paid professional practice within the last 5 years.
- Feldenkrais Method
- Reflexology
- Trager Approach
- Ayurvedic Therapies
- Rolf Structural Integration
- Polarity; Polarity Therapy, or Polarity Therapy Bodywork
- Asian Bodywork Therapy that does not constitute massage
- Acupressure
- Jin Shin Do
- Qi Gong
- Tui Na
- Shiatsu
- Body-Mind Centering
- Reiki
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