Milwaukee, WI

I am unlicensed and have been practicing massage for twelve years. From day one I took massage very seriously, studying anatomy and physiology, massage techniques, health and fitness, nutrition and studying coursework that is provided by some of the more serious massage schools. I have experienced many massages from many different therapists both certified and not certified. To be honest most of the time there is no real difference between the two. It is really up to the individual how much effort they put into it. Honestly until the US adopts real standards and forces massage therapists to prove there competency like they do other medical professionals, I refuse to buy into the buy into the school promoted certification hype. Let's move to a system like they have in Canada. With 1200 to 2000 hours of training and stronger testing. The US requires anywhere from 500 to 1000 hours and the national exams are very easy. I would love to see Technical Colleges develop a massage curriculum. I was a student a UW-Madison and also a student of several Wisconsin technical colleges in recent years. The technical colleges have really come a long way and the courses I took were far tougher than what I took in Madison.