09/03/2009
A Letter to California ABMP Members from Bob Benson, ABMP Chairman
September 1, 2009
Dear ABMP California Member:
With great pleasure I communicate to you that the California Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC) is, as of 5:19 p.m. today, fully open for business, receiving and processing applications for statewide certification as a Certified Massage Therapist (CMT) or a Certified Massage Practitioner (CMP). Because of the importance of this opportunity, all ABMP California practicing massage members should be receiving within the next two weeks a mailed copy of this communication along with an application form.
This opportunity is the culmination of eight years of extensive ABMP involvement addressing inequities in local government regulation of massage practitioners. Most of those years involved crafting legislative solutions, assuring that the needs of ABMP’s diverse membership were fairly considered, and battling to get a bill signed into law. SB 731 was that vehicle; it became effective January 1, 2009.
CAMTC certification is voluntary. The design is to allow someone to continue practicing massage therapy (following local city and county ordinances) without securing CAMTC certification. Some municipalities are, however, electing to step away from massage licensing activities, instead requiring individuals to secure CAMTC certification. Please check with your own city or county if you are planning not to obtain CAMTC certification.
Reasons to Certify
Even where it remains voluntary, there are excellent reasons to seek CAMTC certification:
Cost: A single $150 fee (plus an estimated one-time $80-$95 charge for live-scan fingerprinting and related ID costs) covers you for an initial 24 months; renewal for the next 24 months will cost only $125 (with no need to repeat fingerprinting);
Pre-emption: While you still will need to secure a local government business license if you have your own practice, possession of CAMTC certification will exempt you from local government massage licensing requirements and fees;
Portability: With CAMTC certification, you can practice anywhere in the state;
Title Protection: Only individuals holding CAMTC certification will be permitted to use within California the titles “Certified Massage Therapist” or “Certified Massage Practitioner” or similar wording or abbreviations1;
Visibility: Consumers will be able to verify on a website who is or isn’t certified; over time, consumers may begin to establish a preference for certified individuals.
Helpful Hints
Most applicants will be able straightforwardly to qualify for certification simply by having their massage school supply an official transcript to CAMTC. If, however, the school you attended no longer is in operation, don’t despair. Gather what evidence of attendance and program completion you possess. If all you have is a copy of a graduation certificate, supplement that with additional evidence of participation in the program when you send in your application (e.g. a copy of a cancelled check evidencing tuition payment, a graded final exam, class notes, or a statement from a former instructor confirming your program completion).
If you have 250 or more massage education hours, but not that many at a single approved school, you still probably can qualify for CMP certification. This is also the case if you have the total hours, but not at least 100 of those hours in specified curriculum areas. In both cases, apply for “Conditional Massage Practitioner” certification. Once CAMTC examines your full record, they will likely see you are immediately eligible for full certification.
If you have at least 100 massage education hours, but not 250, check out Pathways B and C on the “Overview of Pathways to CAMTC Certification” chart; you may possess sufficient experience hours to qualify for CMP status through these grandfathering education + experience routes.
Cautions … and a Request for Patience
The application form and supporting documentation requests are thorough, necessarily so. As you are painfully aware, for decades certain individuals offering other personal services have tried to pose as massage therapists. Cities and counties adopted restrictive massage therapy regulations, thinking that would curb prostitution. Having secured back an opportunity to regulate our own profession, it is important that CAMTC certification requirements and disciplinary processes be thorough so that we earn the trust of local government officials.
Most cities appear ready to give CAMTC an opportunity to be successful. A few cities have indicated they may resist the new CAMTC massage therapy regulations and instead try to apply local ordinances to all therapists practicing within their boundaries. Both ABMP and CAMTC disagree with those cities’ legal positions and have pledged to work to alter the stance those cities are now taking. As we become aware of a city taking such a position, we will notify ABMP members residing in that jurisdiction.
In closing, I ask you to be patient with CAMTC staff these coming months. Certification criteria and procedures are still being refined. Every CAMTC staff member processing applications is a rookie, because the organization is just getting started. None of us know whether initial application flow will be a trickle or a rush of many thousands at once. If interest is high, it may take weeks to catch up. My advice: if statewide CAMTC certification is appealing to you, initiate the application process at least a couple of months in advance of the expiration of your current local government permit or license.
To learn more about CAMTC certification, please visit other parts of www.camtc.org. If, after exploring that website, including the Frequently Asked Questions section, you require additional information, you can talk to a CAMTC staff member at (916) 669-5336. While ABMP staff is less versed in the details of the new program, we of course also welcome your calls or e-mails.
Sincerely,
Bob Benson
Chairman
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1If you are an ABMP Certified Massage Therapist, ABMP Certified Bodywork Therapist, or ABMP Certified Somatic Therapist, you will be required to obtain CAMTC CMT level certification to continue being permitted to use those ABMP titles within California. We anticipate that a reasonable CAMTC grace period will be provided before this limitation is enforced. Beginning January 1, 2010, ABMP plans to limit both new and renewal ABMP Certified level memberships to those California residents who have obtained CAMTC CMT level certification. Any Californian who currently holds an ABMP Certified level membership who elects not to become CAMTC certified may alternatively switch to ABMP Professional level membership.