Kunz, Kevin and Kunz, Barbara, Reflexions, Vol. 18, No. 3, Summer/Fall, 1997, P. 3
1. Are reflexology and massage the same thing? If reflexology and massage are the same thing, why aren't they the same thing? Reflexology is a unique practice, separate from massage. It has a well-defined set of techniques, theories, history, professional standards, definitions, codes of ethics, and a professional culture.
2. Safety to the public issues of massage practice: Massage laws are intended as anti-prostitution measures enacted to counter concerns about nude bodywork services. Why should reflexologists prove they are not prostitutes? If the consumer removes only his or her shoes and socks during a reflexology session, the principle massage safety to the public issue evaporates. Why should non-nude bodywork providers be educated, zoned, and licensed for nude services, paying the additional cost of being designated as non-prostitutes by the city or state?
3. Safety to the public issues of reflexology practice: Just as massage practice includes unique public safety issues, so does reflexology practice. How is the public protected if the reflexology public safety issues are not defined? There are public safety issues that have not been addressed by massage education such as a basic tenet of reflexology professionalism: do not diagnose, prescribe or treat for a specific illness.
4. No experience necessary: Massage therapists are legislatively mandated to provide
reflexology services with no guarantee to the consumer that the practitioner is educated or experienced in reflexology. Normally, "legislatively defined scopes of practice ensure that practitioners confine their interventions to those they are trained to offer."[3] The spectre is raised of a public put at risk by the state-mandated substandard reflexology service provider. In addition, it is possible that the state can be found to be liable if something goes wrong during services provided by an untrained individual who had been certified as competent by state licensing.
No education necessary: Educational standards exist for professions. Massage laws regulate the profession of reflexology with no educational requirements.
5. Consumer be aware: How can the consumer make an informed decision in the purchase of reflexology services? Consumers frequently ask "How do I buy reflexology services?" A state's Fair Practice Act provides consumer protection in the purchase of goods and services. If there is no definition of reflexology or educational requirements in the law, how does the consumer know that he or she will receive appropriate, safe, and ethical services that are within the standards of practice for the field?
6. Restraint of trade: The state has sanctioned the practice of a profession by those who do not meet the educational standards of the field. If reflexology practice is granted to members of other licensed professions with no requirements, is this restraint of free trade? The outcome to non-competitive licensing is higher cost to the consumer with no guarantee of quality or safety in the delivery of services. Aren't massage laws, laws that anti-trust attorneys haven't looked at yet? They give domaine of the entire bodywork field to those who are licensed for massage and not necessarily those educated or experienced to professional standards of specific bodywork fields.
7. Suppression of First Amendment Rights:
If one profession is granted domaine over another, isn't this
suppression of free speech? Reflexology is a distinct native healing
tradition. The state-mandated control of the belief system is counter
to court cases relating to first amendment rights. Why is the state
mandating that a belief system be legally practiced only by those who
are licensed for another profession?
The following is a comparison between the
typical regulation of reflexology by massage law and one state's
criteria (State of New Mexico, "Sunrise Act," 12-9A-3: Criteria for
licensure and regulation, effective February 1, 1994.)
Example of one state's criteria
for licensing and regulation Malregulation of
reflexology? "In determining whether to enact
legislation to create a new board or commission to provide
for licensure or regulation of a profession or occupation
that is currently not subject to state licensure or
regulation, the legislature shall consider whether the
following criteria are met: "A. unregulated practice of the
profession or occupation will clearly harm or endanger the
health, safety or welfare of the public, and the potential
for harm is easily recognizable and not remote The typical state massage law
addresses safety issues of massage, a nude service, and
imposes the mechanisms specific to those issues on
reflexology practitioners. Reflexology is a non-nude
service. The laws create no mechanism to address safety
issues inherent to reflexology practice -- such as
practicing medicine without a license. "B. regulation of the profession
or occupation does not impose significant new economic
hardship on the public, significantly diminish the supply of
qualified practitioners or otherwise create barriers to
service that are not consistent with the public welfare or
interest In areas where such laws have been
in effect over time, the cost of services has increased and
the quality of services has decreased as experienced
practitioners are forced out of business. The laws create
state-mandated monopolies over reflexology practice to
practitioners who are not required to have any
qualifications to practice. The supply of qualified
practitioners has been nearly eliminated in New York City by
the state law. A barrier is created for the
individual who seeks to exercise his or her first amendment
right to provide or have provided the health belief service
of choice. Why is the state mandating that a belief system
be professionally practiced only by those who are licensed
for another profession? A barrier is erected for the
experienced service provide who cannot afford the time or
money to receive education in another profession to continue
his or her established business. Higher regulatory fees are
imposed on the reflexologist commiserate to the regulatory
task of overseeing a nude bodywork service. (Chicago
reflexologists pay the city massage licensing fee of $600 a
year. Illinois nurses pay $10 a year for state
licensing.) "C. existing protections available
to the consumer are insufficient, no alternatives to
regulation will adequately protect the public and this
licensure or regulation will provide that protection and
mitigate the problems A full and fair disclosure system
of business regulation would more adequately protect the
public and mitigate the problems of reflexology as a
non-nude profession. The existing massage law imposed on
reflexology practitioners creates more safety to the public
problems than it solves. The existing laws do not exist the
issue of clearly defining separate bodywork practices to
ensure that fair practices acts are not violated and that
the consumer receives the services he or she contracts
for. "D. functions and tasks of the
occupation or profession are clearly defined and the
occupation or profession is clearly distinguishable from
others already licensed or regulated The functions and tasks of a
reflexologist and massage therapist are clearly defined in
textbooks, education, and professional
associations. "E. the occupation or profession
requires possession of knowledge, skills, abilities that are
both teachable and testable and the practitioners operate
independently and make decisions of consequence A separate reflexology body of
knowledge is detailed in twenty books and by two national
organizations. The states have failed to prove that there is
an overwhelming need to regulate reflexology and they have
failed to show that it has adequately regulated
reflexology. The states are certifying the
competency of bodywork professionals without following the
educational standards established for bodywork professions:
completion of a course of study in the professed field of
study in a curriculum specific to the profession or from a
credentialed school. "F. the public needs and can
reasonably be expected to benefit from the assurance from
the state of initial and continuing professional competence;
and The laws include no educational
requirements of reflexology providers. Normally,
"legislatively defined scopes of practice ensure that
practitioners confine their interventions to those they are
trained to offer." Is the public put at risk by the
state-mandated possibility of a substandard professional
reflexology service provider? Is the state legally liable
for actions resulting from the certification of competency
of untrained individuals to practice a
profession? "G. the public cannot be
effectively protected by other means in a more
cost-effective manner." A full and fair disclosure system
would provide the information necessary for the consumer to
make an informed decision in the purchase of services. A
notice posted in the workplace would notify the consumer of
public safety issues and means to comment on
services.
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