Massage CEU Decisions Being Made

NCBTMB Issues Statement Regarding AMTA’S Endorsement of the MBLEx for Licensure

OAKBROOK TERRACE, Illinois – The Board of the National

Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (NCBTMB) has issued the following statement regarding the American Massage Therapy Association’s endorsement of the MBLEx for state licensure. The statement was issued today on behalf of the NCBTMB Board by Paul R. Lindamood, NCBTMB’s Chief Executive Officer.

“NCBTMB feels, respectfully, that AMTA’s decision to endorse the MBLEx was driven by passion rather than reason, and does not promote the long-term interests of the massage therapy profession.

The parties that have advocated the MBLEx appear to have economic interests favoring entry into the profession of a higher number of practitioners adhering to lower standards. Perhaps the most telling evidence of this intent was the decision to produce a redundant examination, rather than jointly create a national practitioner data bank to protect the public. These interests are in direct conflict with the interests of over 91,000 nationally certified massage therapists, who benefit from a field comprised of knowledgeable, highly skilled and committed professionals who can best guarantee quality massage experiences for consumers.

Introduction of the MBLEx threatens the viability of national certification and the profession at large. If massage therapy becomes the first allied health profession to diminish the importance of certification, we can only imagine what kind of message that would send to consumers, patients, hospices, workers compensation bureaus, referring health professionals, and to the Medicare program.

Congress stands ready to appropriate over $1 billion for comparative effectiveness research, which has potential to demonstrate the ability of massage therapists to produce good outcomes for patients. It seems unlikely to us that any national health program will be inclined to study, let alone decide to cover, treatment in a field that has abandoned its status as a credible and credentialed profession.”