Registration for Massage Therapists

Registration for Massage Therapists

January 19, 2007

A call for massage therapists in New Zealand to be registered to protect the safety of the public, has been repeated by one of the country’s leading massage therapy education providers, the New Zealand College of Massage.

The call comes after the college was notified by police that a complaint had been received of “inappropriate massage” on an Auckland woman by a person posing as a student of the college. The college is deeply concerned at this latest alleged incident and confirms that this person is not a student now or previously with NZCM. The Police description rules out any previous student.

“It’s college policy that student workplace or community practice involves teachers as supervisors, signed agreements, guidelines for participants and other health and safety practices,” advises the NZCM academic manager, Scarlett Cooper.

Ms Cooper adds that a registration system would allow prospective clients to check qualifications held by practising therapists. “Currently, the public is vulnerable to a small minority of unprofessional people who set up shop as a massage therapist, sometimes with little or no training,” she says.

Ms Cooper advises people to visit the NZ College of Massage website which offers a link to show where its graduates are working in NZ. “While there is no registration in place the public can, at least, make confident decisions about where to find ethical practitioners from our site,” she says. “As the leader in massage therapy education, we train our therapists to the highest standards of practice, including ethical standards. Our students understand appropriate massage and we teach techniques to protect both themselves and their clients,” she says.

The college offers courses in massage therapy to certificate, diploma, and degree level.

Media contact: Brenda Saunders, Auckland. 021 777 171