Back to School

One of the reasons I started Massage Yelp! Was to talk about massage school, and to give first hand accounts about the laws and regulatory bodies that effect new therapists (Such as the CAMTC in California). When I first decided that I wanted to attend a massage school, like most people, the first place I looked for information was the internet. I found a whole lot of sites talking about how to drum up more business after you become a massage therapist and even more sites dedicated to enrolling me in massage schools. But I could find almost no information about what these schools were really like, or information from school attendees about what I could expect from the programs or classes themselves.

I aim to correct this lack of first hand accounts over the next few days. I can’t speak for all the schools and programs (as I only attended one). But what I can do is talk about the different types of classes and how much effort and time they require. I can speak about the things that I expected and the things that surprised me. What made me nervous and what gave me confidence. This information should give it readers a better idea of the ups and downs of these schools and hopefully allow them to make a more informed choice when choosing to attend. So look forward to tomorrow when we will talk about the first few days of introductory massage classes.

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Is the CAMTC Good for Consumers? Part 1.

There is no question that the new massage laws in California are good for massage practitioners. No longer having to be licensed as an “Adult Entertainer” in every city that you work in will be great. Not paying for expensive tests in everyone of those cities will also be great. But what about those of us who just like to enjoy a good massage for health or recreation? Are there benefits to these new laws for consumers of massage as well?

Well here is one thing we might consider, I believe that the old laws discouraged a lot of people from entering into the massage profession. Even fully trained and educated people. The existence of the CAMTC could encourage many of these people to return and become practicing massage professionals. This means a lot more practitioners in the pool. For consumers this could be a double edged sword. On the one hand it means there will be a lot more choices, and for consumers who like to shop around for the best experience this is a dream. On the other side it will mean more practitioners with variable degrees of talent. That of course is easy to counter simply by finding a therapist you like and sticking with them.

Another plus is that finding massage therapist who are CAMTC Certified will be a snap. Once the data base is up and running one search will tell you if your practitioner is licensed and held to the high professional standards of the state of California.

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SPAfrais has Dermalogica Massage Oil for $102.15, Free Shipping!

If you like to use high end oils and like don’t like paying over $140 for them then this is a pretty good deal, free shipping too. I hate paying for shipping.

http://www.spafrais.com/SPA-Clean-Massage-Oil-Base_p_18699.html

I have been using this oil since my sister attended Paul Mitchell as an estitition, it smells very clean, is easy to clean up and most importantly feels great on the skin.

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Here Comes the California Massage Therapy Council! (CAMTC)

Despite sharing the last three letters of its acronym with the place that Mormons train missionaries, The California Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC) seems like a pretty cool place. Anyone who has tried or even thought about being a massage practitioner in California knows how hard it has been. Having to be licensed as an “Adult Entertainer” in every city that you work in is extremely expensive and slightly degrading.  But Thanks to a new law signed in back in 2008 California will finally have a state wide standard certification.

The CAMTC is the volunteer organization that has popped up to take care of regulating these new certifications and they will soon begin accepting paper work and handing them out. This is a big deal for anyone who dreaded the idea of paying upwards of $500 just to take the test required to work in the next city over. I’ve been patiently waiting for more information about the new proses since the law was signed in last fall and information has been slightly hard to come by. So, now that the date of the official changes approaches I thought I’d share a condensed version of the info I have gathered so far:

The CAMTC will evaluate the qualifications of massage therapists and issue certification in the state of California.

They will begin taking applications August 1^st and the new certifications will go into effect on September 1^st.

The application will be found on the CAMTC website after it is ready or you can register for their mailing list and they will email it to you day one.

There will be two levels of certification: Certified Massage Practitioner, which will require 250 hours of training and Certified Massage Therapists, which will require 500 hours.

As of yet there will be no test. The cert will cost $150 for the first 2 years and $125 biannually after that. A current Live Scan will also be required.

Massage schools accepted by the CAMTC:

• University of California

• California State University

• California Community Colleges

• Schools accredited by the U.S. Department of Education

Hopefully with helps clear up some of the confusion I know that I had while trying to research the new program in California.

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