First off, the news reported (correctly) that licensing is not statewide in Minnesota and that several schools, including Aveda and CenterPoint, are pushing for statewide license legislation. The news reported that of the municipalities that license, Bloomington is the strictest, requiring 400 hours of education and $1 million in liability coverage, plus a background and reference check.
The City of Saint Paul also has strict licensing requirements, including the following:
- background and employment check, including cross-check with massage center or home massage business to verify the therapist will be working at a legitimate, St. Paul licensed business
- successful completion of both written and practical exams covering hygiene and sanitation methods, applied stroke knowledge and technique, the therapist's character/appearance/attitude, and overall uniqueness and therapeutic approach. In combination, these tests cost the prospective therapist $185.
- general liability insurance of at least $1 million PLUS professional liability of at least $1 million for at least $2 million worth of insurance coverage
- a license application fee
- see the City's website for this process at http://www.ci.stpaul.mn.us/index.asp?NID=1995
That's just for the practitioner of massage. To open a commercial massage center in Saint Paul, a practitioner/business owner (such as myself) must also apply for a license which includes the following separate requirements:
- another application fee for this license
- a site inspection covering everything from lighting to linen storage to cleaning supplies
- a lease/rental agreement for the proposed center location
- a site plan (drawing) for the location, including inner layout and exterior conditions, such as parking and building entrances
- a detailed description of services that will be provided
- and a list of employees who will perform those services (all must have been licensed as Massage Therapy Practitioners according to the bulleted list above)
- See the City's website on this process: http://www.ci.stpaul.mn.us/index.asp?NID=1991
bright hands : light body, LLC and Lucinda A. Pepper (yours truly!) successfully obtained both of these required licenses and practices massage therapy and bodywork under the guidance and regulation of this esteemed City. A city that I was born and bred in, and am proud to be a citizen of.
I am fully in support of statewide licensing, even though I know it is going to increase the paperwork and overhead load I have to deal with to be a massage therapist. I know that in the end it is absolutely worth it, for me and for my clients, to know that they are being served by a licensed, certified, professional massage therapist.
I have been providing the Client Bill of Rights all along, and wish that Amelia Santinello would have pointed out that the same CBOR provides the contact information for the Minnesota Office of Unlicensed Complementary and Alternative Health Care Practice, which is the office that handles complaints about massage therapy gone wrong (and other unlicensed professions). My CBOR states:
Complaints
You have the right to file a complaint with the Minnesota Office of Unlicensed Complimentary and Alternative Health Care Practice (OCAP). To file a complaint:
Mail: Office of Complementary and Alternative Health Care Practice, Health Occupations Program, Minnesota Department of Health, P.O. Box 64882, 85 East 7th Place, Suite 300, St. Paul, MN, 55164-0882,
Telephone: 651-201-3728
It is true that it is very difficult for a client to make such a complaint if they have not received a Bill of Rights, or if they are unaware that such a document or an office might exist. It is my professional opinion that it is absolutely unacceptable for a massage therapist/bodyworker to operate without providing a CBOR to their clients.
The CBOR states the therapist's credentials (to a limited extent). Aside from the CBOR, my credentials are listed in part on the About Us page of my website (http://www.BHLBwellness.com/aboutus.aspx).
Aside from my 630+ hours in massage therapy school (at the Minneapolis School of Massage & Bodywork, which sadly closed in 2007) and my 200+ hours in yoga teacher training, I have obtained 132 more hours of continuing education in massage/bodywork, yoga, movement therapies, and business, not to mention the many hours spent reading, watching DVDs, and discussing the art of these therapies with colleagues. Additionally, I taught massage therapy for a little over a year at Rasmussen College (Brooklyn Park and Eden Prairie campuses), and have those many hours of refreshment (during preparation and teaching) of the therapies that I practice.
Last but not least, I take issue with the way that WCCO used pretty blatant racism, sexism, classism, and elitism when showing images of massage therapy and therapists, and the professionals who license and regulate them. They used all Caucasian professionals, such as the Ivy Spa representative and the Bloomington Licensing representatives. They used images of a woman of color providing the massage at the Ivy Spa, images that further oppression in many ways; those images were sexist, racist, classist, elitist, and projected an image of the massage profession as simply a spa/pampering experience where rich Caucasians can receive these SERVICES by people below their social station. The image was of a woman of color "servicing" a white man, and was overlaid (via voiceover) with the words dangerous, unlicensed, taken advantage of, and the "testimony" of the "victim" they used for their sensationalistic coverage of the issue. This was damaging in many ways to the credibility of the massage therapy profession and I don't feel it accurately represents me or the clients I serve.
For too long, the public's image about massage therapy has been that its a privilege, a luxury, a pampering service, and that it's provided by mainly women in spas, day spas, salons, and "private getaways" catering to a wealthy, primarily Caucasian, clientele. I thank my brothers and sisters in massage who have worked hard in the past decades (including the nearly 13 years that I've been a professional massage therapist) to promote massage as a complementary and preventive approach that partners well with allopathic medicine, chiropractic, physical therapy, sports medicine, and general injury rehabilitation. Those dedicated professionals (and I count myself in the bunch) have worked hard to combat the stereotypes and to create conversation in the public arena about massage therapy's real approach and benefits.
A more positive way to showcase the issue of massage therapy licensing in Minnesota would have been to share, in-depth, the therapists and schools involved in the Alliance for Licensing Massage Therapists (www.almt.synthasite.com) who are working toward creating statewide licensing legislation; to interview some local massage therapists on their opinion of statewide legislation, and to discuss the pros and cons of such.
Speaking of the victim, I feel badly for her experience in the hands of that clearly unprofessional and dangerous "therapist." I cringe whenever I hear these stories- and unfortunately I have heard many. In my ideal world, women (and men, for that matter) would try mightily to dispense with fear and speak up during the session whenever something doesn't feel right- regardless of the possible reactions by the person of perceived (or actual) power. However, I know it doesn't always work that way. I encourage each and every client to co-create their massage session with me, from the depth of pressure and the specific spots I work on (I encourage people to tell me 'a little to the left,' etc.) to the music (or lack of), the temperature, and more. I feel it is vital for the person on the table to be empowered to change and control any part of the massage (within reason) so they receive the best session possible.
I am well aware of the power dynamics that occur in the context of a massage session and cannot imagine crossing those kind of boundaries, or acting out any other ethical violations, with a client. It is true that a person on the table feels powerless sometimes, and afraid of speaking up because the therapist is the person in the perceived position of power. The most recent issue of Massage & Bodywork magazine (which I receive as a Certified level member of Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals- http://www.abmp.com/ ) included an article on the best and worst professional boundaries. Here's an excerpt from the section titled "Worst boundary mistake:"
"Without a doubt, sexualizing your work is potentially the most destructive boundary mistake you can make. These types of behavior range from flirting...to the most destructive act of being sexual with a client during a session. Nothing hurts your reputation more than being linked with sexually inappropriate behavior. And no rumor travels faster or sticks with you longer than a sex-related one. Compare, 'she's late for her sessions,' with 'she dates her clients.' Which one are you more likely to remember and repeat? In addition, nothing hurts the reputation of the profession more. It reinforces the persistent and erroneous public image that massage therapists offer sexual services."
I do NOT offer any sexual services. In fact, I have turned in two massage centers that were acting as commercial businesses but were really covers for prostitution and sexual massage. I won't hesitate to report any inappropriate or unethical behavior to the Minnesota OCAP, nor will I hesitate to show a client who behaves inappropriately the door.
I got really fired up about this issue a couple of months ago when Yoga Journal's online forums linked to an article about Female Happy Ending Massage in New York City. I posted a fiery comment on the Yoga Journal forum, and my colleague and I who are helming up a Massage Therapist's Professional Information Exchange group will be seeking comment from our group on the professionals perspective to this issue. You can see the Yoga Journal post with my comments at http://blogs.yogajournal.com/cityblog/2008/07/new_york_a_massage_scandale.html, which includes a link to the article. No matter who is sexualizing this service, it's inappropriate, unethical, and further contributes to our professional oppression (in addition to the many other forms of oppression that are promoted by such an act.)
By the way, if you would like to find a qualified massage therapist who is a member of the Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals, you can visit ABMP's website: www.massagefinder.com, to find a professional who has solid education credentials even if they are located in a Minnesota city that doesn't currently license massage therapists.
If you have read to this point, you're a brave and hearty soul and I salute you. I welcome your comments and feedback. You can reach me at 651-235-8254, Lucinda@BHLBwellness.com, and by leaving a comment on this blog.
