The continuing education industry for massage therapy is MASSIVE! There are so many course providers out there seeking to provide training in EVERYTHING!

We get it, because as an Association we get to see the hundreds of different courses that get submitted to us for CEC approval every year. Why, last year alone CMMOTA assessed over 300 new courses!

Here however, is “the sticky”, as you might say. Just because you take a course that received approval from the Association for CEC’s doesn’t mean that you can practice what you learned in the course! Crazy, we know – but to understand why let us give you a little association history…

Several years ago (seems like ancient history now…), CMMOTA had a member who asked a question about a line on the certificate of insurance below the list of modalities that was provided at the time of insurance renewal. It is a common line on most professional liability insurance certificates and normally reads something like this “The above modalities may be practiced where sufficient training has been obtained.” The question went something like this – what does the insurance company consider to be “sufficient training?” Their concern was whether or not the continuing education courses that they had taken actually met the “sufficient training” clause on the insurance certificate.

After contacting the professional liability insurance provider, and after a lengthy process of back and forth, CMMOTA and the professional liability insurance company agreed on a process whereby course material and certificates were provided to the insurance company to help them make a determination on whether or not any particular course would be deemed as being “sufficient training” for the practice of a modality.

What that means is that if a course hasn’t previously been reviewed by the insurance company and deemed as “sufficient training” then the Association seeks out that confirmation on the members behalf. Once “sufficient training” has been confirmed, then a modality recognition can be granted and practiced (some modalities do require additional insurance premiums for coverage – contact info@cmmota.com to learn more if you are interested to learn more).

Here is the reality – not all courses are sufficient. They may lack any number of different components that the professional liability insurance company deems necessary in order to provide coverage for the practice of a specific modality or technique. At the end of the day, it is the insurance company that takes the risk when insuring each therapist to practice, and that risk is mitigated based in part on the education that the therapist has completed.

We care about each therapist that we represent and want them to be secure in knowing that what they are practicing in providing treatment to their clients is in fact covered by their professional liability insurance policy. No question, and that should make every one of our members secure in knowing that the Association has your back. That is what makes us the best!

So, what can you do BEFORE you invest in a course to make sure that it is “sufficient training” to allow you to fully use the education that you are paying for? Really it is as simple as inquiring with the office via email to info@cmmota.com. Our team is dedicated to helping our members get the answer to your continuing education questions – after all continuous learning is a key component of helping each of the therapists registered with us be the best they can be!

Take a Course

Keep your skills up to date with our wide range of courses.

View Course Listings

Boost Your Career

Browse our career postings to find the right fit for you.

View Career Postings