The Massage Pundit

PA SB 1227 is a legislative action intended to thwart human trafficking, and once again, massage parlors are at the top of the hit list. According to a number of different human interest and political action websites, Pennsylvania is notorious as a center of human trafficking. PA is on the interstate corridor between New York and Ohio, and is also a popular detour on the New Jersey to Florida route, all viewed as major trafficking centers.

What SB1227 does:  Requires the posting of the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline by entities where victims are most likely to see it. In “massage establishments and spas,” along with other businesses such as hotels/motels, nail salons, truck stops, taverns and strip clubs, the notice containing the hotline information must be posted on the doors of the bathroom stalls or on the inside door of the bathroom.

Human trafficking is a very serious matter. Victims are used for forced labor, subject to rape and other physical violence and physical and psychological torture. Prostitution is the most popular form of forced labor. None of us would wish it on anyone.

I certainly do not object to the intent to stop the human suffering that is behind the bill. What I find sad is that massage is associated with this blight on humanity, and that this law will not differentiate the legitimate massage establishments and spas from the brothels. Every establishment will be required to post the human trafficking signs, and failure to do so will result in a civil penalty. So not only will the therapists in PA need to post the sign, but they should also be prepared to have the inspector/police/gestapo or whomever is going to enforce that come into their place of business to be sure it’s properly displayed. It perpetuates the myth that we’re all doing something illegal. I would be mortified if a few clients were sitting in my lobby and the police walked in and announced that they were investigating human trafficking and wanted to inspect my business. Talk about making a good impression…

I don’t think there is any chance of this bill being stopped; it looks like the majority of legislators in PA are signed on as not only supporters but actual sponsors. And as federal laws have been a miserable failure at stopping human trafficking, you can expect more and more states to enact their own bills on it. So get ready, the police may be visiting your office soon.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from blogging about the massage profession, particularly when it concerns politics and/or the goings-on at the associations, it’s that there aren’t any secrets in this business. I’m pretty good at keeping secrets; I wouldn’t be able to write this blog without the help of sources who prefer to remain anonymous. This time the cat is out of the bag–concerning me.

In the next few weeks, the trade magazines will be coming out with an ad from the NCBTMB for the Advanced Certification Exam, starring none other than yours truly.  Other than myself, and of course the folks at the NCB, I had the silly idea that my mother, my husband, a couple of close friends, and my staff members were the only other ones who knew about it. I didn’t attend the FSMTA meeting last week–but I should have. Apparently I was a big topic of discussion. I’ve been congratulated, booed and hissed, and asked about the state of my mental health, all in the course of a day.

In case you haven’t been one of my readers for long, I spent a couple of years right here on this very blog ripping the NCB to shreds.  I was upset with their management, upset with their lack of service to stakeholders, upset with their interference with the MBLEx, and upset with the way some of their Board members acted when they attended a meeting in North Carolina, just to name a few issues.  I let them have it with both barrels for quite some time. I even got one disgruntled reader to comment “Okay, we get it, you hate the NCB, now move on.”

During the entire time I was slapping them upside the head, I repeatedly said that I didn’t want them to go away; I wanted them to get their act together. I’ve been Nationally Certified in Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork since 2000, and I have maintained it ever since. The director of my massage school used to say she thought I would be the first person from her school to score 100 on the exam. I did not. I don’t know that anyone ever has, but I’ll be sure to broadcast that if you let me know.

In the past year or so, I have seen some good things happen for the NCB.  Since the departure of the previous chair, there haven’t been any more Board meetings held in Hawaii. That was an issue with me. I don’t think holding meetings in exotic locales is a good use of the money certificants pay to take the exam.  People might expect me to get timely service from them, due to the fact I’ll blog it if I don’t, but I’ve heard from lots of other people that their phone calls and e-mails are getting answered and that they’re receiving their renewal notices, which was also an issue for a long time. I’m glad about that, not just for me, but for everybody.

When the NCBTMB first started working on the Advanced Certification Exam, I was concerned that it was moving too fast…and of course I voiced that opinion. And it hasn’t been without bumps in the road, either. Whitney Lowe and some other volunteers on the task force departed. I’ve had some good chats with Elizabeth Langston, the director of the project, and some of the other staff members, and I’m satisfied they are  going at a good slow and careful pace. Pearson Vue will be administering the exam, they’re involved in the process, and they have their own reputation to uphold.

I’ve blogged about this exam a number of times, and talked about it on Facebook, and when I ran into the folks from the NCB at a meeting recently, I asked them to let me be the first one to take it.  So yes, I am going to take it, and I am appearing in an ad for the NCB saying I’m first in line to take it. I’m sure some people will think I’ve gone off the deep end. My only concern is that I pass it so I won’t have to blog it that I failed.

I did not receive any payment for the ad. I’m relatively notorious as it is, and I don’t need the five minutes of fame I’ll get from it. And due to the fact that I am in my last year of service on the North Carolina Board of Massage & Bodywork Therapy,  I will be recusing myself if any votes come up regarding the NCB. That’s the right way to roll. So why did I do it?

I did it because I’d like to see the NCBTMB stay alive and thrive. There’s new blood coming into the Board. They’ve cut the wasteful spending. They’re responding to their stakeholders.  Are they perfect? No, and neither is any other organization that’s run by human beings. Yes, I have heard the criticism that it’s just another way to make money, to replace revenue that’s been lost to the MBLEx. However, the NCB exams are still accepted in 32 states. They haven’t gone away, although the MBLEx has gained wide acceptance from the states that have joined the Federation, and I’m sure they’ll get more.  The marketplace will speak on that issue. I still hold that a collaboration between the states such as the FSMTB has accomplished is a wonderful thing. And I also have high hopes that the Advanced Certification Exam is also going to be a great thing, and that it’s just the start on the road to the NCB offering specialty certifications.

I want to take the exam to see if my middle-aged brain has retained anything I’ve learned over the years. If having my face on an advertisement is enough to persuade anyone to take it, I’ll be glad for that to happen, but I don’t think I’m that influential.  And Ms. Langston and the rest of the people at the NCB know that if I take it and I think it’s not a good valid exam, representative of what an experienced therapist who has sought continuing education in the quest to expand her knowledge and improve her practice of massage should know, I’ll blog it to the masses, ad or no ad.

I don’t please all of the people all the time, and I don’t try to. I am who I am. I’m plain-spoken, and I imagine I have just as many detractors as I do supporters. One of my mentors expressed concern that people wouldn’t respect my journalistic integrity anymore because of the ad. Well, that’s too bad, and I’ll miss you if you go. But in reality, I don’t get paid to blog; it’s not responsible for my book sales, or people asking me to come and teach, and especially not responsible for the success of my clinic. My hometown folks don’t know my blog from an ear of corn. The people in my town who make my living don’t know and don’t care if I never write another word. So there it is; the swirling rumors can be put to rest, and yes, that is me in an ad for the NCB.  Now I have to go buy five copies for my mother.

Peace & Prosperity

Laura Allen

There’s been so much said about The View in the past week or two, I almost hate to add my two cents worth, but I’m going to, anyway.  I’m  almost glad this happened, because it woke a lot of massage therapists up from the state of complacency they were in and spurred thousands to take action.

For those who have been oblivious to all the hooplah, this all started when a massage therapist from Portland OR made an accusation of sexual assault against former Vice President Al Gore, which she claims happened during an outcall in 2006.  I’m not excusing Gore’s behavior in any way, but frankly if this alleged incident happened the way she says it did, she ought to have “STUPID” tattooed on  her forehead for ignoring every red flag in the book. She claims he was drunk when he opened the door and it all went downhill from there. I’m not massaging the Pope if he’s drunk, and she should have known better. That’s a whole other blog.

At any rate, following this sensational announcement, the women on The View, and Elizabeth Hasselbeck in particular, proceeded to insult the entire massage profession with a lot of ignorant comments about massage.

This has resulted in The View receiving a response from both AMTA and ABMP–and more importantly, from thousands of therapists.

I’ve been preaching this sermon for years now, that we have to get up and get involved. It’s been very disheartening for me many times when I’ve reported on some piece of legislation that’s detrimental to us, and it either gets no attention at all or attracts those few die-hards like myself who will jump up and holler. So for this reason alone, I have been glad to see so many massage therapists getting up in arms about it. There have been hundreds of postings on Facebook, and thousands signing petitions demanding an apology from The View. I don’t watch that show and if there’s been an apology forthcoming, I haven’t personally seen it, but what I have seen is therapists coming together to raise a little hell, and that’s a good thing.

Peace & Prosperity,

Laura Allen

A couple of weeks ago, I attended the World Massage Festival in Berea, KY, and I must say it was the best massage-related event I have ever been to. Held at the college in Berea, it was a long weekend full of education, entertainment, food, fun, and fellowship.

The keynote speaker for the event was Paul St. John, a well-known educator in our field; he’s had a successful career spanning decades. I’ve never personally made his acquaintance, so I certainly don’t have anything to say about his character. I’m sure he’s a perfectly nice man, or he wouldn’t have enjoyed the longevity he has as a bodyworker and educator.

What I will say is that Mr. St. John seized the moment to promote his opinions on the government, and his perceived loss of our rights and our freedoms for a solid half-hour. Other than making the statement that he used to travel to Germany twice a year to teach massage, there was nothing in the speech about massage. About ten minutes into it, I was sitting there thinking, “dang, I thought this was supposed to be about massage.”

Politics has a part in what we do–and I report on that here all the time. Legislation and association activities affect us. We expect political discussions at AMTA conventions, professional association gatherings, and state board meetings. The World Massage Festival has specifically been promoted as a different type of gathering–one with no politics. Mike Hinkle, the owner of the Festival, started the WMF because he wanted to provide an inexpensive alternative event that has nothing to do with politics. Knowing that made listening to St. John’s rant even less appealing; maybe he wasn’t informed that politics aren’t allowed at the WMF. I’ll bet he was informed right after the speech.

A day or so after the Festival, I received an e-mail from someone informing me that they had attended a class of his over twenty years ago, and that the same thing happened in the class.

Am I politically opinionated? Heck, yes. My husband and I are on opposite ends of the political spectrum and we don’t even discuss politics in our house, lest it deteriorate into an argument.

I can’t recall preaching any sermons about the government when I’m teaching a class, or giving a presentation, but if I was going to say anything about it, it would be a one-liner here or there, or two minutes relating some kind of news that’s pertinent to the subject at hand.

When someone is paying me to teach a class, they shouldn’t have to listen to me going on and on about my gripes about the government during the class time that they have paid me to attend. When I am paying to attend a massage event, I shouldn’t have to listen to it either, unless there is  advertising beforehand that the presentation is all about “Government Reform” or something along those lines that I could choose to attend–or not.

Everyone is entitled to their own politics and their own opinion, including Mr. St. John. However, I thought his hijacking the keynote speech to make a political diatribe was inappropriate, and so did many people in the crowd. He actually got booed and shouted at. It really put a damper on the atmosphere of love and light that permeated the gathering.

In all fairness, he had a couple of supporters…two of the inductees into the Massage Therapy Hall of Fame gave him kudos when they were accepting their awards.

I know that a lot of massage therapists are interested in health care in general as well as health care reform. It’s just my opinion that most of us present for the keynote speech would have liked to hear him talk about his vast experience with massage and bodywork, instead of being subjected to what sounded like a filibuster on the senate floor. There were also a lot of massage students present, and I wondered what kind of impression they were getting at what was no doubt their first big massage gathering. I think it was the wrong place and the wrong time. Just my opinion.

Laura Allen

Social media is one of the greatest innovations of the 21st century. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other similar sites are some of the most easily accessible, user-friendly, and free ways to market yourself and your business.

However, just like SPAM clogging up the inbox on my e-mail, I’ve had a few run-ins with people who abuse social media, particularly Facebook.

I am appalled at the already-famous people on Facebook that troll for clients…going through my friend list and sending requests to everyone on it, including my elderly relatives, my young nieces and nephews, etc., because they have apparently jumped to the erroneous conclusion that everyone on my page is related to massage. People do this because they are trying to sell a class or their books or whatever. It incenses me when my dear elderly aunt e-mails me and wants to know who so-and-so is, because they’ve sent her a friend request and the only friend they have in common is me.

The awful thing to me about this is that some of the most well-known and well-off people in this profession are the ones doing it.

The majority of my FB folks are massage therapists. I didn’t friend many of them; most of them friended me. I assume they’ve read my blogs, read my articles, bought my books, or attended my classes, and I have no problem accepting their friendship. A couple of times when someone prominent in the field sends me a friend request, I have gladly accepted, thinking that maybe they read my blog….so when they start trolling my friends and relatives, it’s a big let-down for me that they’re not interested in me at all, except as a conduit to harvest all the people on my friend list so they can pitch their classes, books, or whatever they’re selling.

I think this is pathetic, and the only way I know to stop it is to un-friend these people and out them for the trolls they are.  I just hate it when that happens.

Laura Allen

Last week I attended the first annual gathering of the Alliance for Massage Therapy Education, which took place at the Grand Summit at the Canyon Ranch in Park City, UT. It was an excellent gathering, and I hope it’s a good indicator of things to come.

Rick Rosen, Executive Director, opened the meeting.  Tom Myers gave the keynote speech, and conducted a workshop for continuing ed providers. He is an effervescent and entertaining speaker. We also heard from Jan Schwartz, representing ACCAHC; Les Sweeney of ABMP, Neal Delaporta of the NCBTMB, Kate Henrouille of COMTA, and Kathy Jensen of the FSMTB.

Friday began with discussion groups and brainstorming for “Visioning the Alliance.” Friday night, we all boarded gondolas for a ride up the mountain to the Red Pine Lodge for an excellent meal. There was still snow hanging around. The view from the gondola was awesome. Saturday, workshops included an offering on the MTBOK, and a class for school owners on increasing enrollment. I personally attended a great class by Cherie Sohnen-Moe on Ethics in Education.

Saturday was also the day for seating the first Board of Directors. Ralph Stephens, Mark Beck, and Cherie Sohnen-Moe were seated. The other 4 members are the AFMTE’s original leadership team, and include Pete Whitridge, Iris Burman, Stan Dawson, and Su Bibik.  There were a few rumbles about that, as the leadership team also acted as the nominating committee for the first election. Rosen stated that it was being handled in a transparent manner, and that as a new start-up organization, it was not without precedent and was done for continuity’s sake. Diana Thompson, immediate past president of the Massage Therapy Foundation, stood up and agreed that it was an acceptable practice for a first board as long as it was handled in a transparent manner. A nominating committee was also chosen for the next election.

All in all, it was an excellent meeting. I particularly enjoyed meeting Jan Schwartz and Mark Beck in person, hanging out with Sally Hacking, Christopher Alvardo and Angela Palmier, the folks from the NCB, meeting friends from NC and far and wide, and in general had a good time, in spite of the fact that I got a dreadful case of altitude sickness.

The Alliance is an independent organization that was started last year in an effort to provide information and advocacy for schools, instructors, and CE providers. Industry supporters are also welcome to join. I encourage all schools, teachers, and CE providers to become members. The AFMTE is all about the advocacy and advancement of education, and will depend on the involvement of educators to meet those goals. Visit their website for more information.

The ruckus over CA AB 1822 is not yet over, though it has taken what CAMTC CEO Ahmos Netanel describes as a more positive approach than the bill as it was originally introduced. The CAMTC has still not spoken in favor of the bill, which would have virtually crippled the CAMTC and turned massage regulation back over to the localities.

Although much of the offensive language has been removed in the amended version of the bill, I am personally still offended that the proposed new rules call for two new CAMTC members, to be appointed by the Police Chief’s Association and the Sheriff’s Association. In other words, the Massage Police.

Does the medical association have such a requirement? I don’t think so. Does the chiropractic association, the nursing board, or the cosmetology board have such a requirement? Nope; just us hard-working professional massage therapists.

I don’t think it’s fair for us to be singled out in this manner.

AB 1822 went through this amendment process because of the huge outcry from massage therapists and industry supporters. I suggest that we need to keep on screaming until they get the message loud and clear: We are not prostitutes. We should not be subjected to a different set of rules that other boards and commissions are not bound to follow. It’s demeaning and it implies that they’re just lying in wait for us to screw up, no pun intended.

I hope that the CAMTC will continue to withhold their support of this bill, even in its amended form, and that the rank and file will rally again and insist that they do not have to have the Massage Police breathing down their neck by demanding seats on the council.

Any and all public boards and commissions that are created for the credentialing of professionals and protection of the public should have the expectation of a good working relationship with law enforcement, and when they are all required to have law enforcement actually sitting on their boards, I’ll support them sitting on the CAMTC. Until then, I can’t be in support of this prejudicial requirement, and I hope the CAMTC refuses to support it as well.

Peace & Prosperity,

Laura Allen

Massage therapists are tireless volunteers. They show up to massage hospice patients, do chair massage or hold benefits at the drop of a hat to raise money for some worthy cause, and generally are just a giving bunch of people.

Volunteers are also one of the backbones of this profession, especially when it comes to serving on a state board or serving one of our national organizations.

AMTA couldn’t run without volunteers. The NCBTMB could not survive without volunteers. State boards couldn’t serve the public interest without volunteers.  COMTA can’t do site visits without volunteers. People volunteer to be delegates to the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards. The good folks of Puerto Rico volunteered to translate the MBLEx into Spanish, saving the Federation thousands of dollars. I expect the Alliance for Massage Therapy Education will be recruiting some volunteers at their first annual meeting next month.

Volunteers don’t have any monetary incentive for what they do. It’s not for the fame and the glory…speaking from personal experience, anyone working for any of the organizations is a target for criticism, when the organization itself is under fire. The time expenditure can be big, and the rewards can be small. So why do it at all?

Do it because your talents are needed. Do it because it’s giving back to your community and your profession. Do it because it will be a learning experience. Do it because you can. Do it because it’ll look good on your resume. Do it because no one else will. Just do it.

Peace & Prosperity,

Laura Allen

Earlier today I put up a blog on my personal site, www.lauraallen.com about the departure of John Goss, a COMTA (Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation) volunteer for the past ten years. As background, prior to writing the blog, I contacted Kate Henrioulle, Executive Director of COMTA, and Melissa Wade, Chairperson, and asked them if they would like to comment. Both responded with “COMTA thanks John Goss for his service to COMTA and wishes him well in the future.”

If you’ll read the blog, you’ll see that I commented on Dr. Goss being dismissed from the Commission during a meeting he was not present at; I also quoted two different COMTA sources who gave me comments about their perceived problems at the organization, and an observation of my own that the organization seems to be stuck in neutral, having gained only 100 schools in an 8-year period.

What ensued before and after is the interesting part. Just yesterday, I was notified that I am on the ballot at COMTA for the upcoming election; I had submitted my resume a couple of months ago and been interviewed by a member. Apparently, I passed muster. I also put a disclosure at the end of the blog that I was a candidate.

Today, however, after my blog went live, I received, erroneously is my take on it, e-mails that transpired between the present Commissioners who were horrified at the way I “am working to harm COMTA.” I don’t think they were aware they were cc’ing me. Or perhaps they were. At any rate, the word from Chair Melissa Wade is that she would see to it that none of the Steiner schools, which she works for, would vote for me. Lisa Helbig chimed in and asked if there was any way they could remove me from the ballot due to the fact that I am not the type of objective person they are looking for. All because I expressed an opinion.

There was also a good deal of speculation among them about who my sources are. I don’t divulge them. That’s why they’re my sources. I will say that their guesses were wrong; however, I will be letting those people know that they’re suspected. They’ll probably be tickled that they were thought of.

So here we have the Chair of a national massage education accrediting organization who is going to tell her associates not to vote for me, regardless of what they may think of me personally, and another member who wants me removed from the ballot because I spoke out. I’m going to contrast this situation with a comment that Paul Lindamood, CEO of the NCBTMB made to me last year the day we met. I had been slamming him personally, and the NCB, in my blog for well over a year.  He stated to me that in spite of the fact that a lot of what I said in my blog was distressing to him, that he wouldn’t dream of trying to shut me up because he values freedom of speech as much as I do.

I’m on the ballot. I don’t expect to get elected due to the uproar I have caused and due to Ms. Wade’s efforts to keep it from happening, and if that’s the case, I’m sure my talents can be put to use somewhere else. Too bad, because as I wrote in my candidate statement, I would like to see COMTA move from an exclusive club for 100 schools to a standard-bearer that every school and program aspires to join, and I would have worked hard to make that happen.  And I suspect that even if I do win, against the odds, I am hardly likely to be welcomed with open arms.

Maybe the NCBTMB will let me volunteer for them.

Peace & Prosperity,

Laura Allen

I’m very fortunate to have been invited to the 50th Anniversary of the MA Chapter of AMTA this coming weekend. I am so looking forward to seeing friends from far and wide their. I’m also on a mission to talk to the folks from the NCBTMB, who will be in attendance as well, about the forthcoming new Advanced Certification Exam (ACE).

I intend to take the exam myself. For one thing, I’ve talked a lot about it on this and my other blogs, and I think I ought to take it for that reason if nothing else…I always like to know what I’m talking about! For another, I want to see if I’ve learned anything in the decade + since I graduated from massage school. I’ve attended my share of continuing education, taught a lot of classes, written numerous articles and a couple of books, so I want to see if anything I have learned has stuck with me or if it’s flown right out of my middle-aged brain.

I took a little poll on Facebook to ask how many intended to take it and I’d like to do the same here. Do you intend to go for the Advanced Certification? Do you think a general exam of that type is going to serve you, or are you holding out for a modality-specific exam? That’s something that I expect will be coming in the not-too-distant future, if the NCB has been paying attention to the massage community.

I believe there was proof of that earlier this week: they are paying attention. The fact that continuing education was not going to be a requirement to sit for the exam caused an uproar, and the NCBTMB’s Board of Directors has now decided to revisit that decision. The Task Force had recommended it all along, and the BOD voted against it. They are now going to back up on that and include that as one of the criteria for taking the exam. That’s a good thing.

I don’t personally accept any new massage clients…my staff members get those.  Somebody has to do the laundry around here! I don’t know that the clients in my clinic will be impressed if I pass the exam or not. I don’t think I’ve taken any kind of exam since grad school, other than the NCETMB more than ten years ago, so it’ll be a stretch for me to participate in one at all. It might do me good to jog my memory and exercise a few brain cells.

What do you think? Is taking this exam going to be on your agenda? My inquiring mind wants to know.

Peace & Prosperity,

Laura Allen