ABOUT US
OUR VISION
Inspiring excellence in massage therapy education
WHAT WE DO
We develop accreditation standards for massage therapy education and accredit massage therapy education programs in Canada. Achieving CMTCA accreditation is a tangible representation of a program’s commitment to quality, ethics, safety, and ongoing improvement.
MEET OUR STAFF
CHRISTIAN VULPE
Executive Director
KATHRINA LOEFFLER
Chief Program Officer
MEET OUR BOARD
Click on the photos to see their bio.
OUR HISTORY
CMTCA’s accreditation process is improving the quality of massage therapy education and raising the credibility of the profession and its practitioners. In this complex field, the path to accreditation wasn’t easy, but it was worth the effort.
Massage therapy is regulated by statute in only five provinces: British Columbia, Ontario, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador. In other jurisdictions, various professional associations provide processes for voluntary self-regulation for their members.
This variation in standards of education and practice serves neither the profession nor the public well.
Since 2013, CMTCA has grown into a strong and effective accrediting body. We work closely with our stakeholders to strengthen the accreditation process, improve the quality of massage therapy education, and raise the profile of the massage therapy profession in Canada.
SUSTAINABLE FUNDING
Securing sustainable funding for the accreditation process has been an ongoing challenge for CMTCA and its stakeholders.
Early in 2019, the board made the difficult decision to suspend accreditation services in provinces where the provincial association(s) or regulator was unable to provide financial support. Since then, regulators in four provinces—British Columbia, Ontario, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador—have signed multi-year agreements to provide sustainable financial support.
When the decision was made, education programs with open accreditation applications from any province continued to have the option to work toward accreditation. However, for several years, CMTCA only accepted new applications from programs in British Columbia, Ontario, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
In March 2022, CMTCA expanded availability of accreditation services to include education programs in all provinces and territories again. This was made possible by implementing a fee schedule which considered provincial funding differences. CMTCA is proud to offer accreditation services across Canada, because a truly national accreditation process for massage therapy education was the original vision that brought CMTCA into being.