Podcast

The Rub: a Healwell podcast about massage therapy

Join Healwell in examining and bringing context to the world of massage therapy beyond the table. We have ideas. We have opinions. We want change, and that will only come with an understanding of who and what massage therapy truly is.

A variety of topics are up for grabs: history, philosophy, development, and all the other shiny things that fascinate us.

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Rubdown News Alert: California State Licensing

Podcast

April 22, 2025•2 min read

On this episode of The Rub...

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California stands as one of only five states without proper massage therapy licensing, operating instead under a questionable "voluntary certification" system run by the California Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC). This system charges therapists $300 every two years for a certification that requires minimal education, no continuing education, and no examination, while creating barriers for therapist mobility and failing to protect the public.

• CAMTC is a private, non-profit corporation that has been criticized for lack of transparency and accountability
• The CEO of CAMTC reportedly earns over half a million dollars while the organization collects $8 million in fees
• CAMTC has arbitrarily denied certificates to qualified students and operates without due process requirements
• California therapists face significant barriers when attempting to practice in other states
• Professional organizations including AMTA and ABMP support sunsetting CAMTC
• A hearing on April 29th could determine whether CAMTC will be dissolved

Show notes:

----> ABMP Template for Writing a Letter to California Legislators <----

ABMP Statement on California Licensing

AMTA Statement on California Licensing

FSMTB Model Massage Therapy Practice Act

Special thanks to Laura Allen for fact-checking this episode. Read her blogs about CAMTC here.

CAMTC Sunset Hearing Background Report

2022 CAMTC 990 tax document

2023 CAMTC 990 tax document

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Thank you to ABMP and AMTA for sponsoring us!

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Corey Rivera

Corey wants to know everything all of the time, and is lucky enough to be Healwell’s Education Coordinator so she has an excuse to do it. She designs content for the Healwell Community, hosts community events and always has another question. Corey has been a massage therapist since 2008. As a multipotentialite she has experience in writing, designing, organizing data, medical school and opera singing. Currently she owns two small businesses, enjoys video games and cartoons, and has a small stationary obsession. Corey is passionate about how humans communicate information and the profession of massage.

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Interdisciplinary

Interdisciplinary is a podcast about people who take care of people and all of the places and perspectives that lift us up. We love science, we love meaningful dissent, and we love to support our fellow human beings in creating a world that is just, equitable and loving beyond our own imagining.

We will be joined by compassionate, self-aware humans who are actively participating or are interested in participating in interdisciplinary care to have honest, uncomfortable conversations about topics like access, racism, death, ageism, ableism, and equity that address the intersection of being a human being and providing quality care, so that we can expand our impact, confidently navigate new challenges, and together create lasting, sustainable changes in healthcare.

You’ll always learn something. You’ll always laugh and you’ll come away better informed and with real things you can do in your own community and practice to create a more compassionate and collaborative system of care for all humans.