National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork

The National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB) is an independent, private, nonprofit organization. It claims to set high standards of ethical and professional practice through a recognized, credible credentialing program. NCBTMB also claims to promote the worth of National Certification to the public and the profession, maintain the quality of the National Certification Program, and requires continuing education to keep practitioners current with advances in the field. NCBTMB certifies massage therapists and bodyworkers on behalf of the profession for the benefit of consumers, employers and practitioners.

Certification

National Certification sets standards for massage and bodywork practitioners. National certification protects the consumer, the profession and employers by ensuring that individuals who obtain this credential have skills consistent with specific national standards and criteria. To become eligible for certification a massage therapist must possess certain levels of education, experience and training, demonstrate mastery of core skills, abilities and knowledge, and pass a certification exam.

Initiated by the American Massage Therapy Association in 1992, the National Certification Exam has become the standard for licensure used by most of the 33 states that regulate massage, to measure a competent and qualified practitioner. More than 90,000 massage therapists now have National Certification.

Each year there are approximately 70,000 new Licensed Massage Therapists taking the NCBTMB National Cerification Exam. A growing field due to an aging population, the NCBTMB exam is rigorous to most massage students. As a result of this rigorous exam, several test preparation services have been created.

Recertification

Recertification is a process designed to facilitate continued competence including ethics and legal practice in the therapeutic massage and bodywork profession through participation in a learning process that enhances the certificant’s current knowledge, skills and abilities in the field of massage therapy and bodywork.

Recertification allows the nationally certified practitioner to demonstrate ongoing commitment to the enhancement of his or her knowledge, skills and abilities. Furthermore, it helps demonstrate to the public that the nationally certified practitioner remains committed to adhering to the NCBTMB Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice.

All certificants are required to submit a total of 48 continuing education hours and documentation for 200 hours of “Hands-On” work experience completed during the four-year certification cycle. Six hours of ethics must be taken from an NCBTMB Approved Provider. Two of the six hours must be on Standard V, Roles and Boundaries.

External links

• National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork