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I’ve seen some ups and downs since joining the massage profession about 15 years ago, but never, in all that time, have I been as disgusted and dismayed with one of our organizations as I am today. I feel as if I have a vested interest in all of them, so I have the right to complain—and to call on them for help.
The National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork was the only path to licensing in many regulated states for a lot of years. Their exams are written…
ContinueAdded by Laura Allen on October 28, 2013 at 5:19pm — No Comments
I just returned from attending the fourth annual meeting of the Alliance for Massage Therapy Education, held this year in St. Charles, MO. I’m a founding member of this organization, and once again, it was a fabulous event. I would have to say that this was the best one in the history of the organization. Kudos to Cherie Sohnen-Moe, who has spent the last year organizing the event, along with the other board members–all volunteers, I might add. This is the kind of thing that can’t be pulled…
ContinueAdded by Laura Allen on July 21, 2013 at 8:35am — No Comments
Yes, I’m in pain. Believe it or not, it pains me to write negatively about the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork. I am personally acquainted with many of the people who work there, from the CEO, Mike Williams, on down, to Board members, staff members and volunteers. I count some of them among my friends. I know for a fact that they are dedicated and hard-working people.
I’ve been NCTMB since 2000 and…
ContinueAdded by Laura Allen on August 11, 2012 at 9:04am — 2 Comments
It’s all about me, so here’s my wishlist for the profession. It’s difficult to place these in order of importance, because some of them depend on each other, and in my little corner of massage, they’re all important. It’s election time–aren’t we all just about sick of hearing about it–candidates mudslinging and making campaign promises? If I was the President of Massage Land, here’s what I’d do:
The Federation of State Massage Therapy…
ContinueAdded by Laura Allen on August 5, 2012 at 5:48am — No Comments
If at first you don’t succeed…
Try, try again. That’s what the regulatory board in my home state of North Carolina is recommending when it comes to getting the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards to do something about the confusing status of continuing education approvals.
Two years ago, the NC Board of Massage & Bodywork Therapy introduced a resolution…
ContinueAdded by Laura Allen on July 30, 2012 at 4:12am — No Comments
Champ and I spent the weekend at the Florida State Massage Therapy Association meeting in ChampionsGate, FL. It was our first time attending this event, and we went there to work in the Soothing Touch booth with Gurukirn Khalsa and his family. The event was held at the beautiful Omni Resort…a lush tropical setting and superior accommodations. It was hot as the devil–but it got up to 108 ° back here at home in NC while we were there, so I really can’t complain about it. The FSMTA meeting is…
ContinueAdded by Laura Allen on July 2, 2012 at 7:59am — No Comments
I spent last weekend in toasty Tucson, AZ at the Alliance for Massage Therapy Education annual meeting, and for the third year in a row since this organization started, it was one of the best things I have ever attended. There were quite a few new people attending this year, and attendance was up slightly from last year. The meeting was held at the El Conquistador resort, a beautiful venue with gorgeous mountain and desert views. I was late getting there and unfortunately missed the opening…
ContinueAdded by Laura Allen on June 11, 2012 at 1:55pm — No Comments
Earlier this week I received the ELAP (Entry-Level Analysis Project) Description from ABMP. I’ve been blogging about this for several weeks, first because I was upset that it was shrouded in secrecy; then last week because I finally got word of who is serving on this work group. While that information didn’t exactly smooth my ruffled feathers, I was gratified to see that I know some of the people working on it and know that they do the best job they can at whatever tasks they take on. And…
ContinueAdded by Laura Allen on June 2, 2012 at 7:31am — No Comments
Any time one of the major organizations in the massage field tries to fire up a project that will “advance the profession”, I get awfully suspicious. When a group of them get together to do something on the big scale, I go on full nuclear alert. That’s the case right now with a dubious education standards project introduced by ABMP in September 2011 at the Leadership Summit in St. Louis, which I detailed in my previous post, Behind Closed Doors.
As the title of that blog suggests,…
ContinueAdded by Laura Allen on May 5, 2012 at 5:58pm — No Comments
I’ve been criticizing the Maintenance of Core Competency (MOCC) proposal from the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards since the moment it landed on my radar, and I haven’t changed my mind. I think it’s a terrible plan that doesn’t serve any good purpose other than increasing the coffers of the FSMTB. In its present form, it appears to be a blatant move to put…
ContinueAdded by Laura Allen on April 15, 2012 at 12:20pm — No Comments
The National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork has announced several bold new initiatives for moving the organization ahead. It’s no secret that the NCBTMB has had their ups and downs. The immediate past CEO, Paul Lindamood, had a lot to do with bringing them back from the brink of financial disaster that was caused partially by the MBLEx cutting drastically into their exam income, and partially by a previous…
ContinueAdded by Laura Allen on March 20, 2012 at 12:50pm — No Comments
As I look back over 2011, it was a very good year. For the 8th year in a row, since I first opened my business, I am going to finish the year with a growth in sales and in my bottom line. That’s rather miraculous, considering the unemployment rate in my county has been between 14-16% for most of the year. Many businesses have closed. The foreclosure notices in the paper have far outweighed the job listings for the past couple of years. And still, we have thrived, and we had zero staff…
ContinueAdded by Laura Allen on December 18, 2011 at 7:39am — No Comments
Rick Rosen, MA, LMBT, Founder and Executive Director of the Alliance for Massage Therapy Education, announced last week that he will be stepping down from that position effective November 30.
In his letter to Alliance members, Rosen stated that he is returning to his full-time duties at the Body Therapy Institute in Siler City, NC. He founded the school in 1983 and has co-owned and co-directed it his wife, Carey…
ContinueAdded by Laura Allen on November 26, 2011 at 7:26am — No Comments
The year is winding down; all the award shows have been on television lately, and I’d like to give out a few of my own, along with a thump or two on the head of those who need it. Call me a critic! These are my opinions only and should not be construed as the opinion of anyone else.
Kudos to Rick Rosen for starting the Alliance for Massage Therapy Education, and to the organization for putting on one of the best meetings I’ve ever…
ContinueAdded by Laura Allen on November 13, 2011 at 7:37am — No Comments
I was just cruising through my social media sites, and it has reinforced for me something that I’ve known for quite some time about massage therapists: they’re a caring bunch. That’s not exactly a big surprise; after all, our job is helping people feel better. I’d say a certain amount of caring and compassion is a prerequisite for becoming a massage therapist. We all care about our clients…even when I see posts from people who may not be working in their ideal situation, that’s…
ContinueAdded by Laura Allen on November 5, 2011 at 8:18pm — 1 Comment
In January of this year, I blogged Continuing Education Providers: Sink or Swim, and followed up that one with the report from the meeting convened by the NCBTMB, where profession leaders were invited to give input into…
ContinueAdded by Laura Allen on August 27, 2011 at 7:28pm — No Comments
I’ve just returned from the second annual meeting of the Alliance for Massage Therapy Education in Charleston, SC. It was an excellent gathering from start to finish.
There were keynote speakers throughout the weekend, daily opportunities for those present to give input into the initiative on teacher standards the Alliance is undertaking, informative continuing education classes, group sessions, a comfortable setting, and plenty of…
ContinueAdded by Laura Allen on August 20, 2011 at 9:41pm — No Comments
I inadvertently insulted a massage school owner yesterday by making a FB post saying that I wasn’t impressed by a school that had only one teacher to teach the entire curriculum, and that I wouldn’t choose such a school, personally. To begin with, I wasn’t speaking of his school when I made the post, and I had no idea that he was teaching his entire program himself, as his website gives a different impression, listing four faculty members. A couple of his satisfied graduates weighed in with…
ContinueAdded by Laura Allen on June 5, 2011 at 6:01am — No Comments
There were just too many good moments to talk about them all, so some of my personal highlights:
Teaching my exam prep class Friday and ethics on Saturday, great… ContinueAdded by Laura Allen on May 22, 2011 at 9:21pm — No Comments
Civil discourse, according to Wikipedia, is engagement in conversation intended to enhance understanding.
I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly, when it comes to that. The good took place recently at the MAAP meeting I attended with the folks at the NCBTMB. It was a great meeting of intelligent people who were all invited to participate in a discussion about continuing education, and not an ugly word was spoken.
The good was exemplified again…
ContinueAdded by Laura Allen on May 14, 2011 at 7:49pm — No Comments
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