Do you know what your local law covers when it comes to Reiki.

Reiki and MASS Law

MA REIKI LEGISLATION for MA Reiki practitioners: Bill Number: # SB2258
As of 2005, this is the law
under which we practice.
See: "Exemptions" below.
SOURCE
FOR MORE INFO: MA Gov's Office (617) 725-4005 Office of Consumer Affairs & Business Regulation (OCABR)
Home Licensee
Div. of Professional Licensure Boards

THE HISTORY OF THE BILL ~ ABMP Legislative Report
SOURCE: http://www.mass.gov/legis/184history/s02258.htm
4/20/05: Legislation to regulate the massage therapy profession in MA has been re-introduced again in 2005. The House Bill, which is a continuation of previous years’ HB 4668 and 3155, was submitted in December but only recently was identified online as House Bill 3412.

A coalition of interested parties worked on a legislative proposal in 2003 and 2004. Les Sweeney, ABMP Exec. V.P., represented ABMP in that activity. Other groups participating were the MA chapter of the American Massage Therapy Assoc., along with representatives from a coalition of massage and bodywork schools in the state. The state chapter of the AMTA hired a lobbyist to work on the process. This bill is the result of this process.

Senate Bill 205 has also been introduced, but will likely be pulled or amended to match the House Bill. Representative Antonio Cabral, the bill’s sponsor, made some specific amendments to the final proposal last year that the coalition developed. It is this version that is now House Bill 3412. Specific highlights of the bill include:

Requirements for Licensure Completion of a course of study of a minimum of 500 classroom hours at a massage therapy program which has received programmatic approval from the Board and which has been approved by the department of education; 2 letters of reference, 1 of which must be from an employer or professional in the massage or medical field; Proof of professional liability coverage; 24 hours of continuing education will be required every two years in order to renew a license.

Board of Massage Will consist of 7 members: 3 massage therapists, 1 health agent, health professional, or board member employed by or elected to a municipal board of health in the state; 1 individual engaged in the operation of a massage school; 2 members of the public

Exemptions: any person who uses touch, words, and directed movement to deepen awareness of patterns of movement in the body, or the affectation of the human energy system or acupoints or Qi meridians of the human body while engaged within the scope of practice of a profession with established standards and ethics, provided that their services are not designated or implied to be massage or massage therapy. Such practices include, but are not limited to the Feldenkrais Method; Reflexology; The Trager Approach; Ayurvedic Therapies, Rolf Structural Integration, Polarity or Polarity Therapy; Polarity Therapy Bodywork; Asian Bodywork Therapy that does not constitute massage as defined by this act; Acupressure; Jin Shin Do; Qi Gong; Shiatsu; Body-Mind Centering, and Reiki.

Grandfathering provision Will be effective for 1 year after the effective date of the Board’s regulations. either: (a) provides documentation acceptable to the Board demonstrating the applicant has provided at least 500 hours of massage to members of the public for compensation; or (b) has a license issued by the municipal board of health within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the license being valid within two years of the date of application; or (c) provides proof of the successful passage of a board approved examination administered by a national organizational or board accredited by the National Commission of Certifying Agencies and approved by the National Organization for Competency Assurance; and submits a completed application and pays the necessary licensing fee as established by the Board; is of good moral character as reasonably and lawfully determined by the discretion of the Board; and provides proof of professional liability coverage.

12/28/04: As of press time, House Bill 4668 remains in the MA House, with a passage deadline of January 5, 2005. Further info will be provided in a subsequent issue of Different Strokes and here in our update section.

10/29/03: House Bill 3155, a proposal to create statewide licensing for massage therapists, is currently under revision. ABMP is participating in a coalition working on a rewrite of the proposal. It is anticipated that the bill will be resubmitted sometime in late Fall.

6/3/03: House Bill 3155 was read for the first time at a public hearing on May 28, 2003 after being introduced on January 1, 2003. Representative Antonio F. D. Cabral is the sponsor of the bill, which, if adopted, would regulate the practice of massage therapy. The bill was referred to the Committee on Health Care.

Licensure qualification guidelines include a high school diploma or its equivalent and graduation from a school of massage therapy with a 500 hour program registered by the board, or its substantial equivalent. Licensure applicants would be required to pass a written and practical examination. The board would conduct such examinations for all applicants at least twice annually.

Representative Cabral appears to be very open to suggested improvements to the bill. ABMP has been in touch with Rep. Cabral's office and has made recommendations to include grandfathering, modality exemptions and preemption of local regulations.

Please email ann@abmp.com to have your email on file, since that is the quickest, most efficient way to contact you with legislative updates & meeting notifications.

2/12/01: The General Laws of MA, CHAPTER 140, Section 51. Massage; baths. No person shall practice massage, or conduct an establishment for the giving of vapor, pool, shower or other baths for hire or reward, or advertise or hold himself out as being engaged in the business of massage or the giving of said baths without receiving a license therefore from the board of health of the town where the said occupation is to be carried on; provided, that a person licensed to massage or to conduct an establishment for the giving of vapor, pool, shower or other baths in any town may, at the request of a physician, attend patients in any other town in the commonwealth without taking out an additional license.

REIKI AND LEGISLATION
In the UK the following are noted:

A parent or guardian who wilfully fails to provide adequate medical aid for a child under the age of 16 may be committing a criminal office. Reiki is not defined as a medical aid by law so anyone who treats a child whose parents refuse medical aid could be seen to be aiding and abetting that offence. When treating a child it is advisable to secure the signature of the parent or guardian to the following statement. "I have been warned by (Reiki Practitioner’s name) that according to Law I must consult a doctor concerning the health of my child (child’s name)." This statement should be signed and dated by both parent/guardian and a witness and kept with the client records.

It is illegal to practice dentistry if unqualified.

It is an offence to offer treatment or prescribe a remedy or advice for cancer (please note – this does not mean that you cannot give Reiki to someone with cancer, you just cannot claim to specifically treat cancer).

Any advertising should comply with the British Code of Advertising Practice and meet the requirements of the Advertising Standards Agency. Adverts should be dignified and should not claim a cure or mention any disease.

Reiki Practitioners must not attend women in childbirth or treat them for ten days thereafter unless they hold an appropriate qualification in midwifery.

Reiki Practitioners should not prescribe or sell remedies, herbs, supplements, oils, etc., unless they have undergone appropriate training and have qualifications which entitle them to do so.

Before treating animals it is advisable to seek assurance from the owner that a vet has examined the animal. The Veterinary Surgery Act of 1966 prohibits anyone other than a qualified veterinary surgeon from treating animals, including diagnosis of ailments and giving of advice on such diagnosis. However the healing of animals by contact healing, by the laying on of hands or distant healing is legal. However the Protection of Animals Act 1911 requires that if an animal clearly needs treatment from a veterinary surgeon the owner must obtain this. To give emergency First Aid to animals for the purpose of saving life or relieving pain is permissible under the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 Schedule 3.

It is required that cases of certain infectious diseases are notified to the Medical Officer of Health in the district where the client is resident. The notification must be made by a GP, so if a Reiki Practitioner suspects that the client is suffering from a notifiable disease they should insist that the client should see a doctor.

NOTIFIABLE DISEASES
Under the Public Health (Control of Diseases) Act 1984. Cholera, Plague, Relapsing Fever, Smallpox, Typhus, Food Poisoning.

Under the Public health (Infectious diseases) Regulations 1988. Acute Encephalitis, Acute Poliomyelitis, Anthrax, Diphtheria, Dysentery (Amoebic or Bacillary), Leprosy, Leptospirosis, Malaria, Measles, Meningitis, Meningococcal Septicaemia (without Meningitis) Mumps, Opthalmia Neonatorum, Paratyphoid Fever, Rabies, Rubella, Scarlet Fever, Tetanus, Tuberculosis, Typhoid Fever, Viral Haemorrahagic Fever, Viral Hepatitis, Whooping Cough, Yellow Fever.

Reiki Practitioners must investigate and co-operate with local by-laws and all relevant Health and Safety legislation.

Ignorance of the law is no defence.

1. Prohibited Appellation
In order to enable the public to distinguish between those who are professionally qualified and those who are not, the law makes it a criminal offence for anyone who does not hold the relevant qualification to use any of the titles specified hereunder or to use any other title or description which suggests or implies that he or she is on the statutory register of the persons who hold those qualifications. The titles are Chemist, Chiropodist, Dental Practitioner, Dental Surgeon, Dentist, Dietitian, Doctor, Druggist, General Practitioner, Medical Laboratory Technician, Midwife, Nurse, Occupational Therapist, Optician, Orthoptist, Pharmacist, Physiotherapist, Radiographer, Remedial Gymnast, Surgeon, Veterinary Practitioner, Veterinary Surgeon. It need hardly be said that a Reiki Practitioner must scrupulously avoid the foregoing titles unless of course he is additionally qualified in any of the fields concerned when he is entitled to use the appropriate description.

2. Fraudulent Mediumship
The law provides that anyone who:

with intent to deceive, purports to act as a spiritualistic medium or to exercise any power of telepathy, clairvoyance or other similar powers or,
in purporting to act as a spiritualistic medium, or to exercise the powers mentioned in (a) above, uses any fraudulent device, is guilty of any offence.

3. Premises
When carrying on a trade, business or profession from any premises an individual must ensure that their working conditions and facilities to which members of the public have access are suitable and comply with all legislation. In the case of Reiki Practitioners using their own homes as base for their practice, in addition to complying with national legislation for any therapy they practice, they should check on any local authority by-laws covering their practice as these vary considerably through the country.

If staff are employed on the premises Practitioners must pay equal attention in this area.

Reiki Practitioners working from home should give special attention to insurance, the terms of their lease or other title deeds any local government regulations limiting such practice or under which he may be liable to pay business rates.

4. Advertising
The law makes it an offence to take part in the publication of any advertisement referring to any article or any description in terms which are calculated to lead to the use of that article for the purpose of treating human beings for any of the following diseases: Bright’s Disease, Glaucoma, Cataract, Locomotor Ataxy, Diabetes, Paralysis, Epilepsy or fits, Tuberculosis.

It is also an offence to publish any advertisement which:
offers to treat or prescribe a remedy or advice for cancer, or
refers to any article calculated to lead to its use in the treatment of cancer.
At all times advertising should comply with standards laid down by the British Code of Advertising Practice and meet the requirements of the Advertising Standards Authority.

5. Guidelines for dealing with Clients expressing suicidal feelings.

The legal position
It is not against the law for an individual to commit suicide or to attempt to commit suicide (Suicide Act 1961) However, the law states that anyone either a professional or lay person can be charged with the offence of aiding and abetting a suicide in the following circumstances:

If they actively assist a suicide.
If they are aware of someone’s decision to attempt suicide and do not inform an appropriate professional, e.g. the general practitioner, hospital psychiatrist or approved social worker.

chi_solas wrote:
I wondered if Hawaii had these laws in effect
in 1941.

2/12/01: The General Laws of MA, CHAPTER 140, Section 51. Massage; baths. No person shall practice massage, or conduct an establishment for the giving of vapor, pool, shower or other baths for hire or reward, or advertise or hold himself out as being engaged in the business of massage or the giving of said baths without receiving a license therefore from the board of health of the town where the said occupation is to be carried on; provided, that a person licensed to massage or to conduct an establishment for the giving of vapor, pool, shower or other baths in any town may, at the request of a physician, attend patients in any other town in the commonwealth without taking out an additional license.

EzriReiki wrote:


Hello Bridget

There must have been at least similar laws in the Territory even before 1941 as Takata did apply for and receive a locally-issued license to legalize her massage practice. To support her application she trained at the National College of Drugless Physicians in Chicago in 1938, and she had also studied hydrotherapy in Japan before Dr Hayashi's passing.

Milarepa wrote:

You're saying there was a requirement for massage legally before that, locally? By that you mean not Hawaii as whole, but a county or something?

EzriReiki wrote:Hello Wayne

Milarepa wrote:

You're saying there was a requirement for massage legally before that, locally? By that you mean not Hawaii as whole, but a county or something?

I was voicing an assumption. I only know that Takata received a license to practice, I thought massage, but perhaps therapeutic treatments more generally? I remember being told that traditional Hawaiian healers were required to be licensed by the Hawaiian Medical Board years before Takata would have opened her first clinic so probably, another assumption, someone offering curative treatments in the form of steam-cabinet baths, "Reiki Massage", Shortwave treatments, etc. would be subject to the same form of licensing control as traditional healers.

Milarepa wrote:

I never knew the info you gave about her gettign a license. though that's no surpise, you know so much more about her than me full stop! .

EzriReiki wrote:

Milarepa wrote:

I never knew the info you gave about her gettign a license. though that's no surpise, you know so much more about her than me full stop! .

Hello Wayne,

this is the second time I've noticed you comment that I know more about Takata than you do. What is your basis for saying this, it is not as if we have compared notes? (I do acknowledge that the things I know about Takata may in many cases be different to the things you know about her)


EZRI

Milarepa wrote:

i'm psychic. Hehe. Do you really want me to say?

1. You're a teacher of 17 years.

EzriReiki wrote:

Milarepa wrote:

i'm psychic. Hehe. Do you really want me to say?

1. You're a teacher of 17 years.

Sorry, but I do not think I will be coming to your "Psychic Extravaganza" next time the show is in town. I'm not a teacher of 17 years, not a teacher at all. I have never felt the urge to teach, not one single Reiki student. Concerning Reiki, I consider myself a treatment-giver, no more no less.

Milarepa wrote:.

I pressed edit on your post instead of reply, and accidentally took out your last comment bout ego, apologies.