Dear Friends,

 

In an effort to know more about who is influencing my profession’s licensing and to create an informed opinion, I am continuing to research and ask questions (in between clients, of course!).  While I have heard several rumors and speculations, I have not seen any posts to further educate the community on what is going on.  This is what I have, so far:

 

I found out that TAMSO is the newly formed Texas Association of Massage School Owners.  You can visit their website http://www.tamso.org/.  This group grew out of the original Texas Coalition of Massage Schools & Instructors (TCMSI).  I was invited to join TCMSI as an instructor, but did not take the opportunity to do so.  There was brouhaha in the group last year and I hear it is currently inactive.  I can’t get to their website because it was hacked since I first found them over the weekend.  This new group (TAMSO) is for independent school owners only and the list of member schools is posted.  Their tag line seems to say it all:  THE FUTURE IS IN OUR HANDS. 

 

Perhaps the continued division in our profession has allowed politicians and school owners to have a larger voice in our licensing than we may care for them to have.  It is my understanding that TAMSO was founded by Raul Flores, owner of The Academy for Massage Therapy Training in San Antonio  http://www.academyformassage.com/ .  If you do not know who he is or what he stands for, you might want to be more informed. Anything I could write would be hearsay (I read some things last year that greatly concerned me personally; I no longer have any of those posts.)  Last year there was also a proposal to have CE instructors pay a $1,000 annual fee to be approved providers! If anyone has some actual writings, or was physically present through the brouhaha, please create a post for our edification.  Please do not post speculation or any other unfounded information.  There are enough rumors floating around out there.  Let’s use this forum to provide education and understanding.  Discussions that include solutions and action plans would also be appreciated.

 

The latest TAMSO draft was sent to me by a TAMSO member and can be found here http://www.healingtouchtherapies.com/MergedDraft.pdf    There is a meeting on Friday (that’s tomorrow) in Dallas at the Texas Massage Institute on Gaston Aver from 10-12.  It is open to any massage educator in the state – yet I just found out about it in today's e-mail.  It may be that the meeting was called hastily in reaction to recent developments.  Whatever the reason I didn’t get the invitation in a timely manner, I’m feeling a bit sensitive about it.

 

From what I gather, we are very lucky that Heather Muehr at DSHS is willing to listen to other voices.  She has been keeping the long-time leaders in the massage therapy and bodywork community apprised of developments as she gets them - that’s how we found out about the new umbrella agency that is now in the works.  I’m looking forward to learning more about this new agency.  I’ll keep looking for more posts about it.

 

For those of you newer to the profession, there are several leaders in the community who have worked tirelessly over the years to get the licensing laws to make massage therapy professional as well as protect the public (the original intent of the law).  These men and women have been riding an oft times uphill battle.  Texas massage therapists have come kicking and screaming into the world of professional licensing and some of it hasn’t been pretty.  Thanklessness doesn’t even begin to cover what some of these therapists have had to endure.  The professional associations have been in a state of semi-activity, as volunteer leadership is not only time consuming, it is a thankless and often lonely and frustrating job. Some of the same people take leadership positions because no one else will, some give up out of exhaustion.  All the name-calling, rumor spreading, motive imputing and whistle-blowing divisiveness in our community hurts us as a whole.

 

BE INFORMED!  My goal in forwarding information is to educate and to stir us up to being pro-active professionals.  We may have a greater influence over this new umbrella agency by showing that we are working together.  We will be moving to a 500 hour state, that much is clear.

 

We know that the term “Asian Bodywork” is being used as a front for prostitution.  I heard reports of it in other places before I heard of Rep. Anchia’s bill.  I did hear the other day that the chair therapists in local malls may be unregistered and non AOBTA people performing a variation of Asian bodywork called Tui Na.  This is still a rumor, as I have not had time to research this.  Does anyone know more about it? 

 

There has been another volley between the non-Swedish crowd and Rep Anchia’s office.  I have posted all the correspondence to http://www.healingtouchtherapies.com/html/massage_laws.html .  

 

I also understand that the Rep. Anchia’s draft posted to my site is an old version.  The latest information from Rep. Anchia’s legislative director, Damien Brockmann is that a revised bill will be posted to a website in about a week.  It is supposed to take the collective concerns of the bodywork community into consideration.  All I can say to that is, “whew!”  Did anyone else feel insulted by the language and proposed police action?  I look forward to the new version and I will pass it along as soon as I have it.

 

I look forward to further dialogue.

 

Sincerely,

 

S ô¿ô

     ~

Stacey Lemire, LMT, MTI, CE

Central Texas Massage

Group moderator