Our History

The Council of Massage Therapy Educators arose from an informal group of massage therapy educators and school owners who had been meeting together for several years in the late 90's to generate entry-level educational standards for massage therapists and body workers.

We formalized our organization in 1999 in order to have representation on the Arizona Coalition for Massage Therapy and Bodywork, which had been formed to participate in the process of bringing forth legislation establishing statewide licensing for massage therapists and bodyworkers in Arizona.

We are a non-profit organization incorporated under the laws of the State of Arizona, and membership is open to any person, firm, association, corporation, or public institution or subdivision thereof engaged in providing training and education or continuing education for the purposes of practicing massage therapy in the State of Arizona.

SB 1103 went into effect on July 1, 2004 creating  a regulatory Board and  licensing procedures for massage therapists and bodyworkers in Arizona. Many of the core elements of the statute were in fact contributed by the Council of Massage Therapy Educators, including formulation of the scope of practice description.

Our Purpose

The purpose of the Council, as set out in our Articles of Incorporation, is to:

 “to provide a forum for institutions and individuals engaged in the education of massage therapists in the state of Arizona to discuss matters of massage therapy education, licensing, patterns of practice, and standards of practice and to provide advice and recommendations to individuals, corporations, public and private organizations, professional societies and associations, regulatory bodies, government agencies, and other groups regarding such matters.”

As school owners, directors, authors, practitioners, and educators, we believe that one of the most effective ways we can contribute is to offer our considerable range and depth of expertise for the benefit of our profession. We believe in “Working Together for Excellence”

Who We Are

Individually we have been in the business of leading people into the massage field for from 10 to 25 years. Because our business is to deliver quality instruction and services to our students, it is our job to be well-informed about all facets of massage therapy on a national, state to state, and local level.

Our combined student, and graduate population living in Arizona is approximately 6,000 people.