Getting your paperwork/licence in order

Submitted by Craig on Tue, 01/19/2010 - 7:01pm

Hello,

I am just graduated from a 550 hr 5 element shiatsu  school here in Massachusetts.Whereas my training has been very thorough in techniques,It has been quite shaky on the matters of how to go about being legal to practice.Now that we have graduated , my teacher  is far too buisy to relate to us asking questions anymore to get the kind of answers I want.


 Whatdoes this piece of paper  from my school mean on its own?

I know my school was certified by the ABOTA,and has enough hours etc  for them, however, I was wondering, as a new practioner, what steps I need to do with  the State/town etc to insure that I am legal to practice and advertise.Also, I was wondering how to find out this info, in that I dont think I will practice in Mass forever, and will want to move elsewhere and set up shop so I would want to know how to do it wherever I live.

I also understand that the AOBTA doesnt license, and NCCAOM doesnt licence in my state.What then?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

 

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Chad Dupuis's picture
Submitted by Chad Dupuis on Wed, 01/20/2010 - 9:01am.

Your piece of paper from the

Your piece of paper from the school generally means nothing on its own, and in many cases your national certification is either not required or not used either.  Massachusetts is unique (last time I checked) in that they license massage by city, not by the state like most places - but this may have (hopefully) changed.  In the vast majority of states if you have your education, your national certification (better from the NCBTMB, not the NCCAOM which is better for acupuncturists and near useless for bodywork).  Neither of these are used/required in MA.  Each state has a massage licensing board that you will have to contact (easy search on the internet).  For massachusetts this is here:  MA Massage Board.

What you will find is that the laws cater to massage therapy programs not necessarily eastern bodywork programs.  Often times, massage therapy programs are longer and the laws require that number of hours.  You may have to either take additional courses or try to use hours from other college work you may have done (business courses, a and p, etc.) to make up the missing hours.  The massage board in each area, however, will have all of the answers to these questions and usually have them all answered in faq's online.

Just search on google for "massage license board X" where X = the state you are interested in.

 

Chad J. Dupuis, L.Ac.
Yin Yang House Acupuncture and Wellness Center

Craig's picture
Submitted by Craig on Wed, 01/20/2010 - 12:39pm.

Thanks again Chad!I still

Thanks again Chad!

I still have some nagging questions though.

I looked at the law here in Mass, and it seems to say that Asian bodyworkers are not considered massage therapists by the law.Heres the quote from Massachusetts' otherwise draconian massage laws:

b)  Nothing in this section shall prevent or restrict the practice of a person who uses touch, words or directed movement to deepen awareness of patterns of movement in the body, or the affectation of the human energy system or acupoints or Qi meridians of the human body while engaged within the scope of practice of a profession with established standards and ethics, but such services shall not be designated or implied to be massage or massage therapy.  Such practices shall include, but not be limited to, the Feldenkrais Method; Reflexology; The Trager Approach; Ayurvedic Therapies, Rolf Structural Integration, Polarity or Polarity Therapy; Polarity Therapy Bodywork; Asian Bodywork Therapy that does not constitute massage as defined in this chapter; Acupressure; Jin Shin Do; Qi Gong; Tui Na; Shiatsu; Body-Mind Centering and Reiki.  These exempt practitioners may use the terms "bodywork", "bodyworker" and "bodywork therapist" in their promotional literature.

So I doubt this means I dont need any certification/licenseing AT ALL here,it seems to allude to that, but ,living in Mass, I doubt it.

but it leaves me at a loss as to understanding  what are my requiements in order to be legal.Any searches on Shiatsu and the law come up with nothing.Any more ideas?

I havn't the foggiest clue as to what department where to call  where to ask the right questions too.

Also, it seems here , from you post, that you were going somewhere with this sentence and never finished.Would you please clarify?

"In the vast majority of states if you have your education, your national certification (better from the NCBTMB, not to the NCCAOM which is better for acupuncturists and near useless for bodyworkers"

 

thankyou SO much for your time.

Craig
 

Chad Dupuis's picture
Submitted by Chad Dupuis on Wed, 01/20/2010 - 3:25pm.

You need a license to touch

You need a license to touch someone, period.  Shiatsu falls under massage therapy or acupuncture licenses - massage therapy licenses being easier to obtain...  You need to click on the link that I provided above, call them, and ask them all of these questions.  No one but that office will have the answers to the questions that you have.  I'm sorry but that is all I can offer.  Good luck.

As an aside, primarily for others reading this, when you go to school all of these questions need to be answered before you spend a single cent on your education.  Think of every place you would ever want to live and have all of these questions answered before you start school.  The laws and qualifications vary widely from state to state and certainly country to country and there are many people who end up wasting their time and money and cannot practice without further education or even re-doing their entire program at an appropriate school. 

Chad J. Dupuis, L.Ac.
Yin Yang House Acupuncture and Wellness Center

Kim Purdy's picture
Submitted by Kim Purdy on Wed, 09/29/2010 - 8:49pm.

Sorry Chad you are wrong on this matter.

The state law is clear in its exemption status.

Craig can practice legally with no problem.

I am a state rep for AOBTA/ MA.

Keep doing Shiatsu Craig, if you had chosen to be grandfathered in to the state massage licensure, you would be licensed in Swedish massage.

A lot of people are calling themselves bodyworkers, but if they don't have COSP school training in Asian bodywork, the day will come when they will be shut down, you are free to practice.

Chad Dupuis's picture
Submitted by Chad Dupuis on Thu, 09/30/2010 - 7:00am.

Can you clarify or at least

Can you clarify or at least provide statutes.  I'm certain you are not saying he doesn't need a license at all to practice shiatsu?  I clearly remember licensing being by the city in MA, not by the state with Cambridge requiring NCBTMB and schooling, as I remember anyway, and Boston, for example, only requiring you pay for a license (to cut down on prostitution primarily) and each other city either had no laws or would eventually defer to a state law.

Like Craig says above it is unlikely the meaning of the statute that he quoted is that if you simply call yourself a bodyworker rather than a massage therapist you can freely practice without a license.

Again, any actual statues you can provide would be much appreciated, which I'm sure, as  the state rep, you have easy access to.

Chad J. Dupuis, L.Ac.
Yin Yang House Acupuncture and Wellness Center