The Certification Conundrum: A Deep Dive for Massage Therapists
An examination of certificates, certification and certification programs in the massage therapy profession.
As many of you may know, Xerlan and Christopher Deery have been active volunteers throughout massage therapy for over 20 years. We have seen a lot of positive and negative change, locally, nationally, and globally, and have advocated for the deeper inclusion in health care (lowercase h and upper-case H) much longer than that. Some issues should be easy to wrangle – information that has been updated and included in our e-book, Practical Clarity. Some issues haven’t changed, and now that Massage Therapy is getting more and more attention (thanks to the diligent work of professional associations, volunteers, and organizations), we need to make sure we all have the same understanding of the words.
The first part of solidifying our communication is recognizing that words may seem similar but not the same. This is not massagesplaining, it is the challenge to admit exactly who we are and what we have accomplished. Let’s face it: massage started as a medical discipline, formal or informal, and continued to evolve into the 19th and early 20th century. As popularity grew and the educational requirements became a thing, while the Flexner Report was winnowing medical schools, massage therapists remained external to the conflict, but sacrificed their professional identity. We embraced being independent, even entrepreneurial. Massage therapists, massage therapy schools, and massage therapy educators started emulating more of a competitive business model, and progressively less collegiality. Providers looked for ways to be more appealing to potential clients, referral sources, and the emerging industrial medical complex. In this entrepreneurial zeal, certifications emerged in different specialties, and massage therapists obtained them and promoted them to others in the profession.
The thing is, now, in 2025, there is confusion. Massage therapists are still using that same model – the “I’m better/more appropriate/ more knowledgeable because of my certification”, not realizing the depth that the word ‘certification’ has achieved. Certificates are one thing, Certification is another, and both are different than certification programs. There are benefits and challenges to all of them, and where I have been immersed in this dialogue for a while now (read that as 25+ years), the confusion is being exploited. So I wrote about it – much larger than you may have the time to read right now, but I think it is thorough. Enjoy!
