Getting Your Massage Therapy License

Being a massage therapist requires you to have a massage therapy license. A certificate issued by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork, or NCBTMB, is required by a majority of the states. Nevertheless, if you want to practice massage therapy and gain credibility at the same time, get a massage therapy license by all means.

You might have gained the minimum number of training hours from a massage therapy school, but this does not guarantee you the right to practice massage therapy immediately. One has to be legally qualified, and there are certain steps to be a certified massage therapist.

The Number of Hours, the Exam, and Other Requirements

Aspiring licensees must be able to complete the required 500 training hours from a massage therapy school that is accredited by the United Stated Department of Education, as necessitated by the NCBTMB. The program outline must also include 125 hours of anatomy, human body systems, kinesiology, and physiology, and another 200 hours in bodywork and massage. Other requirements would be 40 hours in pathology, 10 hours in business and ethics, and 125 hours in supplemental studies.

An examination is also needed to be taken and to be passed by the future massage therapist. This is to ensure that the licensee has sufficient competency, knowledge, skills, and training to practice massage therapy. If you want to enhance and increase your knowledge and skill set, you could go for additional training. After this, the massage therapy license is almost within reach.

You will receive an NCBTMB certification after the results of the exam are released. If you pass the exam, then it is time to get licensed. At this point, you need to check with your local office to know if there are any other requirements that need to be secured before you can become a full-fledged certified massage therapist. Some of these requirements may be a continuous education in the field of massage therapy. You might want to seek the advice of your previous instructors to get additional information.

Competence and Quality

There are now many massage therapy businesses, and one way to get a winning edge in the competition is to prove that you are capable of performing well. This can be done by being licensed and certified. Besides, clients would not be willing to risk their health in the hands of an unqualified practitioner. It would be inevitable that they ask for your license, the organization that issued your license, the validity of your license, and different matters regarding you training.

If you fail to answer these, chances are you will lose the potential customer that is throwing the questions.

Customers may not know the whole scope of the law as regards to the processes of massage therapy licensing, but it should still be in your best interest to throw away their worries and doubts to assure them that they are in good care. You might not be from the 37 states that oblige massage therapists to obtain a license, but wherever you are, you should be able to gain the trust and confidence of your clients.