Colorado has been incredibly lenient on massage training, letting just about anyone hang a shingle and solicit business, until April 2009 when the government tightened the ship and started cracking down. Now all therapists have to register with the State to get their RMT (Registered Massage Therapist) designation. The credentials to be official with the Department of Regulatory Agencies of the Colorado State Government include:
- 500 hours of education
- Must pass the MBLEx (Massage and Bodywork Licensing Examination offered by the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards) OR NCBTMB exams (a national certification examination offered by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork)
- Liability insurance
- Criminal background check
This new governmental regulation has been established to bring more credibility and professionalism to the profession and industry. It was also instated to protect clients and keep them safe. Massage therapists are now punishable by law if they advertise or practice without current and legitimate registration, if they don’t refer client to a general health care practitioner when the services required by the client are beyond the level of competence, they engage in sexual activities of any kind with client, or have a physical or mental condition or disability that renders the them unable to provide massage therapy with reasonable skill and safety.
For most practitioners 500-hours of massage school is just the beginning. They tend to be life-long learners that continue to inform themselves about various modalities, specific trainings, new techniques, and specialty massage. Such fields of additional education include:
- Manual Lymphatic Drainage
- Reflexology
- Polarity Treatment
- Structural Integration
- Prenatal Massage
- Sports Massage
- Chair Massage
- Acupressure
- Thai Massage
- Shiatsu