IJTMB Article on The Quality of Massage Education

Research finds accreditation makes a difference

Choose Wisely:  The Quality of Massage Education in the United States
by Martha Menard, PhD, LMT
International Journal for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork
vol 7 no 3 (2104)

To download the article in its entirety, please click here or visit the IJTMB website directly at http://www.ijtmb.org.  

The Commission would like to announce the following research study published in the most recent edition of the International Journal for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork.  “Choose Wisely:  The Quality of Massage Education in the United States” was conducted and written by Martha Menard, Phd, LMT of School of Mind-Body Medicine, Saybrook University in San Francisco.  It sought to provide some insight into the difficult task of assessing educational quality and what impact, if any, accreditation and COMTA accreditation makes. 

After reviewing gainful employment data, disciplinary actions against massage practitioners, and surveying educators in massage and bodywork as well as other complementary and integrative health care fields, the author concludes in part:

Returning to the original questions that framed this evaluation, we can conclude that accreditation does improve the quality of massage education and, at the same time, that there is much room for improvement. Knowledgeable and experienced educators both inside and outside the massage profession are in agreement on this point. COMTA accreditation, in particular, does appear to offer better value for cost, compared to other accreditation organizations that do not require curriculum competencies specific to massage therapy.

Please see the complete article for survey methods, data analysis, and more detailed conclusions/ recommendations.  For questions or comments, please contact Commission Chair Dawn Hogue at chair@comta.org.

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