Licensed or Certified

[Dazzle.]

I don't want to sound like a complete idiot...but what is the difference in a Licensed Massage Therapist and a  Certified Massage Therapist?   I will be graduating in May 2005.  I asked my instructor and well ....she really couldn't answer it.   I've noticed several CMT's and several LMT's.

 

[kicksd]

Licensed or Certified

depends on what state you live in im guessing. here in ga. certified means you went to a massage school. and recived a certification from that school. ga is a non licensed state. so you have some people that run out get a buisness license and call themselfs a licensed massage therapist even though they never really attended any type of school.

 

[Big Dawg35]

Certified means you have completed some sort of written and/or practical test on your skills by an independent company (other than the school or place you have received your training) who then grades your work and decides whether you are competent to practice.  If you pass their test you are certified by them.  Many different modalities/bodywork programs offer certification once you pass their specific and usually grueling programs (Rolf/Structural Integration, Shiatsu, Feldenkrais, Polarity, Reflexology, Upledger's CranialSacral Therapy to name but a few) which makes those practitioners "Certified" in those modalities.A certificate coming from a school doesn't mean you are certified -- it means you have received a certificate of completion of that school's course.As for licenses:  A state license is a piece of paper provided to you for applying to the state board with a completed application stating you have achieved the minimum legislated requirements of training/education and all other hoops one might need to jump through in order to prove you should be able to practice.  Depending on the state and their law you might be a LMT or RMT (registered massage therapist) or have the right to use other abbreviations after one's name.A business license is a piece of paper you recieve through a municipal authority saying you have a right to practice within their jurisdiction.  Many municipal's also have local regulation's regarding minimal acceptable training/education plus zoning restrictions that must be observed.  While a state license generally removes the right of the munies to "regulate" massage therapy they still retain the right to regulate businesses through zoning and planning.An occupational tax certificate is usually something you must get hand-in-hand with the business license as it is usually the determinate on how the state gov't taxes your business.Here in GA, there are quite a few practitioners who believe having a state license is necessary to gain credibility in the eyes of the public.  Up to this point Georgia has been an "unregulated" state (really not so because local munies regulate the snot out of massage via adult entertainment and massage parlors ordinances) which means these practitioners in particular go to other licensed states (FL, NC, AL) and jump through those state hoops, get their license then return to GA and claim to be "Licensed Massage Therapists" or "LMT's".  What they fail to note in their advertising is that the license is from another state.  Then there are also those, like bodyfocus mentioned, who use their business licenses to call themselves "LMT's".  What this all leads to for the GA public is most people believe massage therapy is already a state licensed activity.

 

[Alexei]

Licensed or Certified

In Texas you are "Registered", after you complete your State Board Exams.  They don't give a "Licensed MT" or a "Certified MT" here.Though aralia makes a good point about being certified after getting out of school, I don't recall the state allowing Texas therapists to call themselves CMT's.But, please correct me if I am wrong.

 

[Kenneth]

Here in NJ we're just getting going with Certification by the state.  We will not be allowed to call ourselves "certified" unless it is by the state.  If we are licensed by another state, that must be stated clearly.

 

[hhudson]

NCBTMB will grant you the CMT when you pass their exam.  States that require licensure will grant that when you pass whatever test they require.  I'm familiar only with Florida which requires you to pass NCBTMB's test and then apply to the state for your license.  Graduating from massage school doesn't make you a CMT.

 

[*:]$un$hine[:*%]

Licensed or Certified

None of the above. This industry has no nationally-accepted definitions.NCBTMB is the closest thing, but not every state recognizes it as a standard. Boston requires 500 hours of traning, but no exam. Across the river in Cambridge, you need 900 hours and the exam.A NY license requires 1000 hours of training, but no NCBTMB exam. In DC, you only need 500 hours and the exam. NYers have to take the exam before they can even APPLY for a license in MD or DC.ABMP will "Certify" you if you prove you studied more than 500 hours and take X CEUs every so often. No test needed. Is this Certified?Not in VA. In VA, you can only call yourself a Certified MT if you are so certified by the Board of Nursing. Does not matter if you are Nationally Certified by NCBTMB. Does not matter if you are "Certified" by ABMP. If you do not fill out the VA BoN form and get approved, you cannot legal call yourself a certified massage therapist.You can be licensed by a state, city or county, but those are meaningless in other jursidictions. Other health professionals - nurses, doctors, PTs - have their credentials recognized by other states. Massage does not, and never will, so long as so many therapists resist licensure and examination as a minimum standard of quality.