Therapists see licensing bill as aid to profession
Monday, July 07, 2008
BY KARI ANDREN, For The Patriot-News
Jennifer Callahan is tired of the bad rap her profession as a massage therapist sometimes gets. She’s ecstatic at the possibility of having the word “licensed” added to her job title.
Callahan, a nationally certified massage therapist in Hampden Twp., said the state is behind the times.
In one of 12 states without massage therapy regulations or licensure, Pennsylvania consumers can’t be sure they’re going to trained therapists. Surrounding states — Ohio, West Virginia, New York, New Jersey and Maryland — certify or license therapists.
“Licensing would separate the [massage therapists] who hadn’t been doing it legally from those who have,” Callahan said. “Anyone who’s really serious about massage and has been in the profession a long time is pretty excited about this.”
This fall, the state Senate is expected to consider a licensing proposal by House Majority Whip Keith McCall, D-Carbon County, that was overwhelmingly approved by the House in June.
If the Senate passes the bill and Gov. Ed Rendell signs it, massage therapy would be added to a list of more than 200 professions that the state licenses.
McCall said the measure would “give consumers peace of mind and treat trained therapists like the professionals they are.”
Not everyone is sure licensing will erase negative impressions of massage therapy.
“I don’t think that licensing massage will get rid of the sleaze,” said Carol Howe, a registered nurse and massage therapist at Heel Your Sole in Mechanicsburg.
Howe said the most important thing therapists can do is educate the public on the questions to ask before hands-on treatment.
“You want to know that person is going to be respectful of your body,” she said.
Howe has had clients who have misunderstood the kind of massage therapy she practices. Now she requires clients to sign a form that includes a provision that says clients won’t make sexually suggestive remarks or advances.
Howe said she hasn’t had problems in recent years. But in the 1980s, when she began practicing, she said, “I had to ask someone to leave. I told them, ‘No, you are not allowed to touch me back.’”
To become licensed in Pennsylvania, massage therapists would have to attend 600 hours of school in a program approved by an oversight board. Licensed therapists would need 24 hours of continuing education every two years, said Bob Caton, McCall’s spokesman.
The proposal includes provisions for grandfathering practicing massage therapists. Those who have practiced five or more years and have at least 500 hours of training or have passed a national test would become licensed.
“I’m super, super happy,” said Sharon Muzio, a registered nurse and nationally certified massage therapist at Alta View Wellness Center in Harrisburg. “It’s been a long time coming.”
Muzio also works on the ethics committee of the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork, an Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.-based nonprofit that administers a national certification exam and sets ethical and professional standards.
When professions go unregulated, people “just do their own thing,” she said.
One reason licensing massage therapy is so important is “to hinder or prevent people who haven’t completed the proper number of hours of training from practicing massage therapy,” Muzio said.
Historically, such proposals have faced obstacles from chiropractors and physical therapists who disagreed with the bill’s definitions and from previous governors who refused to add licensure boards, Caton said.
KARI ANDREN: 783-5196 or plcaintern@patriot-news.com
CONSUMER TIPS
To find a reputable massage therapist: Look for membership in a professional organization. Consider recommendations from family, friends or co- workers. Call the therapist and ask about his or her training, clients and view on holistic health. Ask if the therapist is certified by a national testing organization.
Filed under: News | Tagged: Keith McCall, massage therapy, Rendell, Senate
