165: Multi-State Massage License: Coming Soon? (with Debra Persinger)

About this episode

Deborah Persinger discusses the Interstate Massage Compact and its implications for multi-state licensing in the massage profession.

🎙 The Interstate Massage Compact (with Deborah Persinger) Deborah Persinger is the Executive Director of the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards (FSMTB), and she joins Whitney on The Thinking Practitioner to break down one of the most significant regulatory developments in our profession’s history: the Interstate Massage Compact. If you’ve ever moved to a new state and had to navigate a whole new set of licensing requirements — or if you live near a state border and can’t legally work on the other side — this episode is for you. The compact would create a multi-state license allowing eligible massage therapists to practice across state lines without meeting separate requirements in each state. It’s already been adopted by five states, with two more needed to stand up the commission and make the license a reality. But there’s more at stake than portability. Deborah explains how the compact was carefully designed to address human trafficking in the massage profession — a daily reality for regulatory boards — and why the details of how the compact is written matter enormously for keeping bad actors out while making life easier for legitimate practitioners. ✨ Topics discussed…

People in this episode

Host: Whitney Lowe

Guest: Deborah Persinger

Topics covered

• Interstate Massage Compact
• multi-state licensing
• regulatory developments
• human trafficking
• education standards

Keywords

• Interstate Massage Compact
• multi-state license
• licensing requirements
• human trafficking
• massage therapy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards

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