You put in the time, studied hard, had your life changed by amazing instructors, made friends for life, and learned more about yourself and your place in this world—YOU JUST GRADUATED FROM MASSAGE THERAPY SCHOOL!
Congratulations! The question is. . . What now?
First, you’ll want to get licensed, registered, and/or certified, depending on where you plan to practice. If you graduated from ASIS Massage Education, you will already be licensed to practice in Arizona, but you may want to someday want to practice in another state or add board certification to your list of credentials, so the following information will still come in handy.
As stated on the American Massage Therapy Association’s website, “Most states regulate the massage therapy profession. Depending on the state, this could be in the form of a license, registration or certification. Cities, counties or other local governments also may regulate massage.”
Licensure and/or certification is extremely important because in 48 out of 50 states it is illegal to work as a massage therapist without such credentials.
In most cases, part of the licensure process requires that you take and pass the MBLEx. In fact, MBLEx is used in 44 out of the 48 states that regulate massage, as well as Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Passing the MBLEx may be just one of the requirements necessary for licensure in your state, so check with your state’s licensing board to determine what else, if anything, you may need.
You can also choose to become board certified. Board certification is not the same as, nor a requirement for licensure; it is solely an extra credential. The National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB) administers board certification, which indicates that a massage therapist has the “skills, abilities, knowledge and attributes” to practice massage therapy, as determined by the National Certification Board. You have to meet NCBTMB’s education and experience requirements and pass the certification exam as well as a national background check to become certified. Check out the NCBTMB website for more information.
You’re probably eager to get to work and start making a difference in people’s lives—and you soon will! Come back for our next post which is all about the different career paths available to ASIS Massage Education graduates!