Increasingly, more states and Canadian provinces are requiring massage therapists to take a minimum number of continuing education (CE) hours to maintain licensure. Professional organizations, such as the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (NCBTMB) and American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA), often require CE’s to maintain membership standing and organizational endorsement.
On one level, these requirements may seem yet another item on the ever-growing “to do†list: more hoops to jump, when you’re already busy with your practice and personal life. Are CE requirements just another bureaucratic layer, complicating your life? Or is continuing education important?
According to the 2012 data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau, there is a correlation with education to income. The more education you have, the more money you’re likely to make. That’s good motivation right there.
But I already graduated from a massage training program, you say. True, but education doesn’t stop there. There are good reasons why.
Continuing education allows you to:
- Learn new modalities and techniques
- Expand your menu of service offerings
- Attract more clients and grow your business
- Grow your career opportunities
- Be more valuable to employers
- Stand out from the competition
- Customize your techniques to meet a client’s needs
- Stay current with the latest developments in massage therapy
- Fill in gaps in basic massage therapy training
- Provide clients with the best possible experience
- Increase your income
- Maintain licensure
Requirements vary for different state/province accrediting agencies and professional organizations. Requirements usually allow for learning new modalities and techniques. They may also cover business practices (such as record keeping and business management) for starting and maintain your practice, ethics and CPR, to aromatherapy, if incorporated into your practice.