Legislative News
New Year- New Outlook
Calling all members!
by Deborah Fox BCPP RPE
Legislation Committee Chair
Certification Governing Council Member
What is your legislation knowledge IQ? Why should you care?
Your right to practice Polarity Therapy is determined by the current practice laws in your state which differ state to state. Currently 22 states require a massage or similar license to practice Polarity Therapy. The majority of remaining states do not require licensing but may require a registration or something similar. Many of us, but not all, currently enjoy our freedom to practice unencumbered by law.
You can see our Right to Practice map here: https://polaritytherapy.org/newsite/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Licensing-Requirements-and-Penalties-by-State-Aug-2022.xlsx-Sheet1.pdf
which will soon be interactive.
Always verify with your state directly and use this map as a guide only. We do our best to keep it up to date as a courtesy but it is not authority for Right to Practice laws.
Although those of us in states not requiring a practice license currently enjoy the freedom to practice free of licensure, this right can be taken away by state law changes that be proposed and enacted at any time. In fact, there is often new legislation being introduced to alter or eliminate our practice rights. This is why you should care!
In 2022 Massachusetts, once again, fought back another licensure attempt for all bodywork practitioners including energy workers. The bill would have required that practitioners already trained in their discipline complete massage or similar training requiring hundreds of hours of additional training having nothing to do with being a Polarity Practitioner.
The attempt was successfully deterred by the committed efforts of Reiki United, Health Freedom Action Massachusetts (HFAMA), many other holistic organizations and fellow practitioners in all professions coming together to take necessary action to convince the legislature not to pass this cumbersome legislation that would have affected thousands of practitioners and their clients’ right to access these services.
Likewise in 2022, despite committed effort, fellow Ohio Polarity practitioners lost their right to practice without a massage license. This event unfortunately put several of our members out of business and unable to practice their profession of choice.
We are in a rapidly changing world with many conflicting power moves taking place regularly by our government and corporate interests alike. Ohio is not the first state to lose its’ practice right for Polarity Practitioners and I’m sorry to say it may not be the last.
Staying informed and involved matters now. APTA is here to support our members for success in many ways. You can stay informed through our legislative updates and by keeping your eyes and ears open. If you hear of any legislative efforts state wide or locally please inform us immediately so that we can support you with the information and resources to protect your rights.
If you would like to join the Legislation Committee please send an email to aptaoffices@polaritytherapy.org
Wishing you all great success in 2023!