The Massage Pundit

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.