Local Massage Therapist Applauds New Regulatory Body - DiscoverMooseJaw.com

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Saskatchewan will soon be joining a growing list of provinces that have created a regulatory body for registered massage therapists (RMT).

The Massage Therapy Act was recently introduced to establish the Saskatchewan College of Massage Therapy which will ensure all practitioners abide by a high standard of care and accountability.

Local RMT Brett Mitchell applauds the move which he says has been 25 years in the making.

"My first reaction was excitement. As things stand right now, because there as so many different associations in the province, there are many different standards for quality of care. So this will help regulate the care that we offer to the public."

Only those massage practitioners who enter the College will be able to use the title of RMT, offering peace of mind to clients to know that they are in safe hands. The regulations will also help keep therapists accountable.

"Obviously, we are trained to practice safely," says Mitchell, "but now if somebody does get hurt, they can come to the regulatory body and an investigation can be done into specific therapists to make sure that the standard is equal across the board."

Making medical insurance claims will also now be easier than ever before.

"Those will the designation of RMT are the only ones who will be able to offer medical benefits to clients. So it'll make it easier for you to get reimbursed from your insurance company for your massage treatments."

While Mitchell says there are many positives to the new legislation, he still has some questions regarding how current RMTs will be admitted to the regulatory body.

"We don't know right now exactly what the law is going to say. Some of us may be grandfathered into the College, all of us may be grandfathered in, or none of us. So we may have to some remedial work and further exams to be able to enter the College."

Even so, Mitchell says he believes the new Act will ultimately help in the industry.

"As therapists, we just care so much about our clients and giving them their lives back. If we can make sure that every therapist has that same standard of care and understanding of the human body I think that we will be able to help even more people. For us, that's what it's all about."