Whether or not you are board certified through the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB), making an effort to find an NCBTMB approved provider for any continuing education classes you may wish to take can be a wise move. This is because those teachers and organizations who have received the official title of NCBTMB approved provider have gone through a review and evaluation process to ensure that the material they deliver to each student has met the high standards of the NCBTMB.

There are several detailed steps a prospective teacher must take in order to become an NCBTMB approved provider. For example, that teacher must first teach the new course to a group of at least five people—and those people must complete an evaluation survey to give their opinions on the overall experience. Documentation such as a course description, learning outcomes and an outline of the course must also be submitted to the NCBTMB for review before a teacher can receive the status of NCBTMB approved provider.

For professional massage therapists and bodyworkers who are seeking a top-notch continuing education experience, it can be reassuring to know that a teacher or organization has already been vetted in order to be deemed an NCBTMB approved provider. In order to find an NCBTMB approved provider, consider going directly to the Web site of the NCBTMB or simply use your favorite search engine and type in “find an approved CE provider NCBTMB.” For the practitioner who holds dual accreditation as both a massage therapist and an athletic trainer, consider seeking out a teacher who has received the status of both NCBTMB approved provider and BOC approved provider if you wish to meet the CE requirements of both professions in one fell swoop.

Once you feel confident that you know how to assess the quality of a continuing education class, you can begin to hone in on what type of CE course you would like to take, as well as the way in which you would like to take it. For example, you may know that you are seeking out fascial therapy continuing education because you are interested in advancing your skills and knowledge about manual therapy that focuses on fascia. From this more specific place, you can begin to seek out the CE class on fascial therapy that best suits your needs.

If you are a massage therapist who happens to live in a more rural area or who has less time and money to invest in commuting to a continuing education course or seminar that is taking place in a long-distance location, then it may be smart to earn a massage online CEU by enrolling in online massage therapy continuing education. This way, you can choose to “attend” the class from the comfort of your own home or office, as long as you have a reliable computer and Internet connection. Even those massage therapists who live closer to in-person continuing education classes or have the time and money to commute to more distant locations may choose the option of massage therapy online education due to the sheer convenience of completing classes from home.

For those professional massage therapists, bodyworkers and athletic trainers who are thinking about enrolling in one of Erik Dalton’s continuing education classes or seminars, it may help to know that these CE programs have been approved by both the NCBTMB and the BOC. Dalton and his colleagues at the Freedom From Pain Institute teach all aspects of Myoskeletal Alignment Techniques (MAT), a method of massage therapy developed by Dalton to help clients achieve lasting pain relief and noninvasive pain management. MAT may be defined as a form of medical massage, orthopedic massage or massage for sports therapy, because it’s a modality that uses deep tissue massage techniques to address specific issues and conditions.

In terms of the ways in which CE classes on MAT can be taken or attended, there are several options for incoming students. For instance, Dalton offers home-study CE programs complete with books, videos and other such materials. He and his colleagues also provide online MAT continuing education courses, as well as classes and seminars that take place in person.

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