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Massage Therapy Body of Knowledge Task Force Announced


The Massage Therapy Body of Knowledge (MTBOK) Stewards are pleased to announce the volunteer MTBOK Task Force member selections have been made. Every attempt has been made to select a dynamic group of individuals who together represent what may be considered the broadly defined field of massage therapy.

Each of the MTBOK Task Force members were chosen for their experience, credentials and expertise as well as having a working understanding of at least one of the major areas impacting the current and future growth of the Massage Therapy profession. The members of the MTBOK Task Force are:

Megan Lavery
Kevin Pierce
Susan Salvo
Michael Shea		 Steve Schenkman
Dawn Schmidt
Nancy Schmitt
JoEllen Sefton


The Task Force is responsible for initiating a profession-wide and unifying effort to articulate a common body of knowledge for the profession. Under the guidance of Chip Hines, a PMI certified Project Manager Professional, the Task Force members will begin work on the foundational elements of the MTBOK project in July, 2009. These foundational elements include:

  • Definition of massage therapy

  • Describing the Field (primarily to enhance understanding and appreciation of the profession by those outside the profession)
  • Scope of Practice
  • Terminology

  • Competencies of an entry-level massage therapist (knowledge, skills, abilities)

The MTBOK project is expected to complete the foundational elements phase of the Massage Therapy Body of Knowledge initiative in approximately one year.

Six organizations have agreed to jointly steward the MTBOK initiative. They are American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA), AMTA Council of Schools, Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals (ABMP), Massage Therapy Foundation, Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards (FSMTB) and National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (NCBTMB).

All stakeholders in Massage Therapy are encouraged to follow the progress of the project, and to provide comments, suggestions and make contributions. Specific instructions will be forthcoming as the project gets started this summer. Task Force bios and other MTBOK updates are available at www.mtbok.org.