The Massage Pundit

The Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards was formed in 2005 with the intention of bringing state boards together in the spirit of collaboration to address the needs for consistent scopes of practice and entry level standards across the country, the need for a valid and reliable licensing exam that would be accepted in all jurisdictions, and the need for a common database with licensing and disciplinary information and the ability to store critical documents.

After a Job Task Analysis with over 7,000 participants was completed, the MBLEx (Massage and Bodywork Licensing Exam) was born and made available to member states. 31 state boards, plus the District of Columbia and Peurto Rico are now members of the Federation. Debra Persinger was hired as the Executive Director in 2006. I recently had the opportunity to find out more about her and the Federation.

LA: What is your background in the massage profession? Are you now or have you ever personally been a massage therapist?

DP: I am not a massage therapist and probably never will be a massage therapist unless I could be exempt from having to touch people’s feet!  I have degrees in human nutrition, human development and human services – I guess you could say I like to study humans – oh, and a post graduate diploma in teaching.  I like to improve the human condition and I am also big on standards – a perfect match for my work with the Federation.  I was hired for my combined expertise in association management and credentialing but I have also taught at universities, conducted research, published books, counseled violent offenders, facilitated support groups, taught ethics workshops; and in my  parallel career path I am a working mom!

LA: How long have you been with the organization?

DP: I have been with the FSMTB since September 2006.

LA: Have you been in the same position with the organization since you started, or did you climb through the ranks?

DP: I was hired as executive director and I retain that title today. I have been a staff of one so that is not to say I was not the receptionist, file clerk, meeting planner, marketing director, candidate social worker, political correspondent, finance officer and myriad other titles.  This week I got an assistant so now I have climbed out of the ranks of receptionist and file clerk.

LA: What is the mission statement of your organization?

DP: The mission of the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards (FSMTB) is to support its member boards (the state licensing boards and agencies)  in their work to ensure that the practice of massage therapy is provided to the public in a safe and effective manner.

LA: What do you think your organization is doing to honor the mission statement?

DP: We continue to expand knowledge, understanding and accessibility to information by providing a forum for communal exchange of ideas among the regulatory community.  Our flagship exam program is also on point as an assessment tool to establish public protection by examining core competencies for licensing massage & bodywork professionals.

LA: What do you feel has been your biggest achievement there?

DP: Establishing the FSTMB as a trustworthy organization that values transparency, integrity, accountability and … People!

LA: What do you see as the most important initiative for moving your organization forward?

DP: Continuing to develop a solid infrastructure for providing top quality services to our stakeholders.  Like the song says… you’ve got to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch on to the affirmative and don’t mess with Mr Inbetween.

LA: What do you feel is the biggest challenge facing your organization today?

DP: Managing the growth – seriously, it’s a nice challenge to have but it’s still a challenge.

LA: There are more organizations and associations for the massage profession now than ever before. What do you see as the ideal relationship between them?

DP: We can all act as change agents.  We can choose to take action in improving and healing our environment and our society.  Our task is to paddle the boat with awareness and integrity; the flow of the river is outside our doing.

LA: If you could only say one thing to your stakeholders, what would it be?

DP: I like to operationalize things so if you tell me your dreams, I’ll do my best to make them come true – and I have a little ceramic heart above my desk that says … Kindness Matters!

This is the fourth in my series of interviews with the leaders of our profession’s organizations. I recently had the opportunity to ask 10 questions of Kate Henrioulle, the Executive Director of COMTA.

The Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation was given approval by the US Department of Education to act as an accreditation body in 2002. In 2004, that approval was extended to include approval of associate degree programs. COMTA is an independent non-profit organization that is not affiliated with any professional massage therapy association.

LA: What is your background in the massage profession? Are you now or have you ever personally been a massage therapist?

KH: I have been a massage therapist since 2000. For several years I taught at the International Professional School of Bodywork (IPSB) in San Diego, CA. While teaching, I also worked on the administrative staff, eventually becoming the Dean of Education. Our school went through the COMTA accreditation process as well as Title IV approval while I was the Dean. Although I no longer practice professionally, I still enjoy giving massage to loved ones and would take classes in new modalities every month if I had the time.

LA: How long have you been with the organization?

KH: I started working with COMTA as the Executive Director in June 2009.

LA: Have you been in the same position with the organization since you started, or did you climb through the ranks?

KH: I have been in the same position since I started. But I consider my work on the administration at IPSB my starting point for learning about the COMTA policies and processes. So in that way, I started from the bottom as the “Assistant to the Dean”, back in 2003.

LA: What is the mission statement of your organization?

The Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation, a non-profit independent body, seeks to improve the quality of education for students seeking education in the fields of massage therapy and bodywork through an accreditation process that reflects the current and emerging professional practice standards.

LA: What do you think your organization is doing to honor the mission statement?

KH: COMTA has an on-going process of evaluating and updating the standards to which member schools are compared. Input on these standards is gathered from various sources including the Massage Therapy Body of Knowledge project, information published by AMTA, ABMP and other member organizations, as well as direct surveys to member schools on the wording of standards.

In recognition of the increasing need for massage therapy to integrate with other alternative healthcare providers, COMTA has become a member of the Academic Consortium for Complementary and Alternative Health Care (ACCAHC). Our participation in ACCAHC informs us on what is current in the alternative healthcare field and the expectations for massage practitioners emerging from this collaboration.

LA: What do you feel has been your biggest achievement there?

Really, I have not been here long enough to claim responsibility for any accomplishments. I look forward to reporting on a future “biggest achievement”, perhaps in the area of improved service to our member schools and reducing our environmental impact by moving all communications to an online system. Accreditation requires A LOT of paperwork, but we are striving to reduce the use of actual paper. We hope this will ultimately translate into a savings for our schools and for the planet.

LA: What do you see as the most important initiative for moving your organization forward?

KH: In reference to our Mission “to improve the quality of education … in the fields of massage therapy and bodywork”, I think our most important initiative is to create development opportunities for school owners, administrators and instructors. Each school has strengths and weaknesses. As we review how schools meet the accreditation standards, we have seen trends emerge in where there are challenges common to many schools. We are in the process of creating an Annual Meeting which will include sessions to specifically address these areas of challenge. We are planning to launch this Annual Meeting in April 2011 with sessions for both COMTA accredited schools and others interested in improving education in our profession.

LA: What do you feel is the biggest challenge facing your organization today?

KH: We have had a bit of a bumpy transition moving our offices to Washington, D.C.

While we have already seen the value of being closer to the source for many accreditation related issues, moving is always a challenge. We appreciate the patience our member schools have exhibited in our period of change.

LA: There are more organizations and associations for the massage profession now than ever before. What do you see as the ideal relationship between them?

KH: I enjoy variety. And I enjoy freedom to choose the organizations which provide the services I specifically want, or that have a mission I want to support. I personally have been a member of multiple organizations and have represented a school in others. The relationships between the organizations would ideally be one of mutual respect and recognition that we can challenge each other to be our best without damaging each other.

LA: If you could only say one thing to your stakeholders, what would it be?

KH: I am honored to be in this position. You have my commitment to uphold the Mission of COMTA and our Values. I look forward to working together to continue improving the quality of massage education.

My morning mail arrived with a packet sent by an anonymous contributor…copies of emails and correspondence concerning the California Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC). I must say it caused me to choke on my breakfast.

The CAMTC, according to their website, is currently conducting a search for a CEO. That’s not shocking news. What is shocking news is the insistence of former Board chair Ahmos Netanel, who is said to be gunning for the position, that the job is worth $348,000 a year, and that it should come with an executive assistant to the tune of another $144,000. Is there another Gold Rush in California that the rest of us haven’t heard about?

Let’s put that in perspective: The governor of California gets paid $206,500 a year. The President of the United States makes $400,000 a year.

An e-mail from Netanel states “…for the kind of skill set and record we are looking for, anything less than $29,000 per month would represent a major cut in pay for the kind of CEO we need.”

I personally think that’s over the top. I know hundreds of hard-working massage therapists who don’t make $29,000 a year. Can you say “non-profit?” It really looks like somebody is going to profit, and in a major way. I believe there are former CEOs all over the country with great skill sets, knowledge, and expertise who are out of work, who’d take the job for half of that and be glad to have it.

Is the head of a state massage association really worth more than the governor? I hope the Board members at the CAMTC will wake up and smell the coffee. It smells a little burnt from where I’m sitting.

Peace & Prosperity,

Laura Allen

This is the third in my series of interviews with the leaders of our professional organizations.

The Alliance for Massage Therapy Education is the newest of our associations, and is an independent organization founded for the purpose of serving the entire education sector of the massage profession, from entry-level to post-graduate studies. Their new national headquarters is located in McLean VA, a suburb of Washington DC. You can visit their new website at www.afmte.org

My fellow North Carolinian, Rick Rosen, is the first Executive Director of AFMTE. Rosen and his wife, Carey Smith, are both nationally-known educators and are the owners of Body Therapy Institute, a COMTA-Approved school in Siler City, NC.

LA: What is your background in the massage profession? Are you now or have you ever personally been a massage therapist? (please give a short synopsis of your career path).

RR: I’ve been active in the massage therapy field since 1978. I began my career as a therapist in Atlanta, Georgia, opened the first professional massage therapy center in North Carolina in 1982, and started the first massage therapy school there in 1983. Along the way, I have trained in and practiced a wide variety of approaches, including structural and energetic bodywork, and body-centered psychotherapy.

Over the 26 years I have directed the Body Therapy Institute, I have taught every course in the program at least once. These days, my focus in the school is in the areas of marketing, strategic planning and curriculum development.

Parallel with this work, I have served as an advocate for the massage therapy profession in a number of capacities. I am a Charter Member and Past President of the AMTA-NC Chapter, Founding Member and Past Chairman of the NC Board of Massage & Bodywork Therapy, and four years ago, I was the first Executive Director for the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards,.

LA: How long have you been with the organization?

RR: The Alliance for Massage Therapy Education is a new entity, having been officially launched August 31, 2009. As Executive Director, I am part of a six-member Leadership Team of veteran educators that is guiding the startup process. I have been active in the arena of massage school organizations since 1986, when I attended my first Council of Schools meeting.

LA: Have you been in the same position with the organization since you started, or did you climb through the ranks

RR: As described above, the Alliance has as a very short history — and I’ve been there every step of the way. Several of the people who now serve on our Leadership Team have been in conversation for a number of years about the need for an independent and autonomous education organization. This happened to be the opportune time to bring the Alliance forth.

LA: What is the mission statement of your organization?

RR: The Alliance is the voice, advocate and resource for the community of massage schools and educators.

LA: What do you think your organization is doing to honor the mission statement?

RR: In the massage therapy field, it is rare to have the opportunity to design and build an organization from the ground up. The Alliance is being created BY educators — FOR educators. Who better to know what massage schools and educators need than those who teach in and operate those schools? One of the most important defining features of the Alliance is ADVOCACY. The Alliance will certainly be providing a great menu of services, products and networking opportunities to its members. Along with that, we are committed to actively representing the interests of our members in all domains. It’s time that massage education has a champion of its own!

LA: What do you feel has been your biggest achievement there?
RR: In just four months, we have put a lot of the infrastructure in place: The Alliance is incorporated; we have secured a date and location for our First Annual Conference; we have established a National Headquarters; we have conducted a successful Founding Member Campaign; and we are about to launch our General Membership Drive for the 2010 calendar year.

LA: What do you see as the most important initiative for moving your organization forward?

RR: Getting the word out. We will be publishing a booklet in the beginning of December that will provide comprehensive information on the Alliance, the benefits that members will receive, information about joining, and details about the inaugural meeting to be held June 3-5, 2010 in Park City, Utah. All of this info will also available on the Alliance’s website, at www.afmte.org.

LA: What do you feel is the biggest challenge facing your organization today?

RR: It is a bold act in today’s marketplace to launch a non-profit without startup grants or other organizational support. In place of that, The Alliance appealed directly to massage schools, teachers, continuing education providers and companies that serve the massage education sector — and have received a strong level of initial contributions. We now have to build on that to create a membership base in the first year that will set the stage for future growth.

LA: There are more organizations and associations for the massage profession now than ever before. What do you see as the ideal relationship between them?

RR: A full-fledged profession has a stable set of component organizations in place, with each one fulfilling a specific role and set of functions. Nearly all professions today have an independent association of the schools/colleges that provide the education needed to enter and remain in that field. With the advent of the Alliance, we now have that component to add to the overall structure of the massage field. This brings us one large step closer to becoming a profession. The Alliance seeks to work in a cooperative role with existing associations in the field.

LA: If you could only say one thing to your stakeholders, what would it be?

RR: Come and join the Alliance, and attend our inaugural conference! Your participation at this foundational stage will help build the kind of organization you want to see. There is far more that can be done for massage schools and educators than has been thought possible. The Alliance is dedicated to strengthening and improving massage therapy education for the benefit of all concerned.