The Massage Pundit

A couple of years ago, there was a document, A Call to Action, that was widely circulated in the massage community; it was addressed to the American Massage Therapy Association, asking the AMTA Board to intervene in the affairs of the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork, as if they had any right to do so. Fully aware that no such right existed, the AMTA declined to get involved.

A Call to Action was written by AMTA members, some of whom were former volunteers and staff members at the NCBTMB. The concerns included numerous alleged violations of the bylaws and unethical behavior by the then-seated Board members, some of whom are now gone, and some who have gone on to bigger and better positions within the organization.

I would like to issue another Call to Action. I urge school owners, program directors, Approved Providers and other educators, and all certificants, to contact the leaders of the National Certification Board. Write a letter, send an e-mail, make a phone call or send a fax. Urge the directors of the NCB to move gracefully into the future, and to let go of the past. Express your distress at the strong-arm tactics, and huge amount of money, that they have used in their efforts to thwart the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards. Urge them to embrace the formation of the Federation, and the existence of the Massage & Bodywork Licensing Exam, as a natural course of events that is serving the advancement of our profession. The 30 state boards who have joined the Federation wish they would.

Let us follow the example of our professional organizations. Both AMTA and ABMP have shown support for the Federation and the Massage & Bodywork Licensing Exam, while at the same time stressing their acknowledgment that National Certification is a cornerstone of the profession. Both AMTA and ABMP, and the Federation, support the NCBTMB moving forward with offering advanced certifications, an opportunity that they have recently acknowledged the intent to pursue.

Although the AMTA and ABMP operate on different business models, there is a mutual respect displayed by the leaders of these organizations. They both want the same thing: to represent the interests of, and offer resources to, those in the massage therapy profession. They don’t go around trying to discredit each other; neither has some whacky belief that they are somehow entitled to be the only game in town, and each, in its own way, is working for the common good of their stakeholders and the massage therapy profession as a whole. These organizations have publications that technically could be viewed as competitors, but each frequently quotes the other’s, and they know how to genuinely play nice.

Contact the NCBTMB and let the leadership know that moving forward with offering advanced certifications is the right thing to do, and let them know that spending the stakeholders’ money trying to bankrupt the Federation, going around to member states and trying to block them from accepting the MBLEx, conducting negative smear campaigns, and having their Board meetings in Honolulu, is the wrong thing to do.

Stand up and be counted! Urge the National Certification Board to get back on track. Remember, any organization is only as good as its leaders. When the leaders of a national organization are going the wrong way, it is up to the membership to step up and call them on it. No need to send nasty letters; just be honest and clear in expressing your hope for them to drop this campaign and move forward. Don’t be afraid to speak out. You cannot lose your certification for expressing your opinion. If everyone remains silent, we can’t sit and wonder what happened while the leaders remain on their present path to the destruction of our valued organization. You can send an e-mail to Neal Delaporta at info@ncbtmb.org

Peace & Prosperity,

Laura Allen