The best ways to find a massage therapist is to get a referral from a friend who gets massage therapy, a health professional who is knowledgeable about forms of complementary and alternative health care such as massage therapy, or contact the American Massage Therapy Association for names of qualified massage therapists in your area. You can call AMTA at 847-864-0123, write to 820 Davis Street, Suite 100, Evanston, IL 60201, send e-mail to [email protected], or check out the AMTA Website at http://www.amtamassage.org to locate a qualified massage therapist near you or for more information about massage therapy. Since there are many styles of massage, you may want to shop around to find someone who practices the style of massage most suited to your needs. You should be able to find a massage therapist who is right for you, though you may or may not need to try a few massage therapists to do so.

Whenever interviewing a massage therapist you should always feel comfortable asking if they have graduated from a school that is accredited or approved by a credible accrediting agency such as the Commission for Massage Training Accreditation (COMTA), are licensed if licensing is required in your area (as of 9/97, 25 states and D.C. regulate massage therapists), are nationally certified by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (this is the only professional certification program that has been recognized by an independent, outside agency), belong to a credible professional association such as the AMTA, and also amount of experience and styles of massage used.

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