Certification - what does that really mean?

When signing up for a course, one would like to receive the very best of teaching that is available. When booking a session with a practitioner one would like to know that the credentials have meaning. When a course is advertised “with certification”, then you would surmise that you will receive teaching of high calibre - and often you do. But occasionally that “certification” word can have various meanings and can be misleading!

Certified by whom? Who sets the standards for that particular health modality or group of practitioners under that regulatory umbrella? Who regulates the certification? Who oversees the certifiers? What advantages will this have over no “certification” and are all certifications created equal?
Here is an example of a modality that we all have heard of: Reiki. Some Reiki classes, for Level One, are four hours long and include a break for lunch, while some are a full, long weekend of more than 16 hours. Both courses may come with a certificate of “competence or completion or attendance”. The course fees can be as high as $150 for the short-hand/abbreviated version or even an internet version and $225 for a full two day course! So now we have two certificates that are not created equal at all!

There is no governing body to regulate Reiki, reflexology, JinShinJyutsu, holographic repatterning, bodywork, pranic healing, and so on in Canada or BC. The Health Act of Canada governs all health related legislation in Canada and the role of the provinces. It names only three health professional groups as federally recognised and under it's legislative power, one of which is medical doctor. All other health professionals must be registered through their respective provincial government’s Health Act legislations.

Currently, there are two ways for health professionals and complementary practitioners to receive their provincial government recognition in BC. One way, in BC, is through the provincial Health Professions Act which entitles the practitioners overseen by this legislation to use a professional title designation, ie. letters after their name. This applies to modalities such as physiotherapy, psychology, massage and chiropractic, to name a few. These practitioners are mandatory members of organisations that have Colleges or Institutes that provide internal self-governing, keep a watchful eye (rules and regulations) on it’s members and provide a venue and process for public complaints and investigations of its members. It is mandatory to be a member if you wish to use any title these organisations give out. Anyone not a member is prohibited from using the title (designation behind their name) or doing the work, by law.

These “Self-governing” colleges are exactly what the provincial government is now attempting to get away from by putting people with professional titles under the Health Act. BC is trying to streamline the professions into how they are accountable. This way, they outline what is required of a College and its members and they have the authority to audit at any time. So, professions that have had stand-alone, separate legislation (such as Registered Nurses, still under the old Nurses Act of BC) are now having their provincial legislative acts revoked/changed, so that they can now be governed under the provincial Health Act.

So there is now a push to have all professionals and healing modalities legislatively gathered under the Health Act, thereby making the stand-alone legislation for several professional associations obsolete. This proposed new system will take years to implement.
The second way is through the provincial Society Act (of the Ministry of Finance in BC)  to have occupational title recognition (or protection). Professional Associations ask for voluntary compliance and will be given consideration for this legislation by the BC government to be enacted (a lot of work - years of effort) if it can be shown that improperly trained or certified individuals pose a level of risk for the public. With membership in a professionally recognised association comes membership criteria, codes of ethics, standards of practice, continuing education, scrutiny, etc. and also the use of some designation behind one’s name. These organisations have had government acknowledgement that the above is necessary to protect the public. So, if a practitioner wants to use the occupational title for such a designated profession/occupation, then the practitioner must join and meet and comply with the institution’s/association’s criteria. Those who don’t wish to meet the criteria can still practice that modality, but they cannot legally use the occupational title that membership confers nor add letters after their name.
This is what the BCAOA has achieved with the Registered Aromatherapist title. Some aromatherapists, and Pat Antoniak in particular, in BC worked long and hard, amongst their various organisations and groups, (each already giving their own “certification”) to form a new structure that could include as many of their practitioners and methods as possible (a real focus on inclusion) and yet set a high international standard.
The “push” to have all health professionals/modalities under one Act is only a BC government phenomenon, which started in the 1990’s with the provincial NDP government. This “push” has caused other therapists, not originally noted as professionals by the government, to have their associations put forth submissions for consideration. This is where the now-defunct Health Professions Council of BC came into play. Any submission not handled by the time of its demise at the end of 2002, were sent on to the BC Ministry of Health for processing. To date, there have been no further submissions processed or approved, as the Ministry is still working on the process they wish to use to review everything, everyone and all applications.  We are all still in limbo!
So, a person looking for a course or someone looking for a practitioner could ask if the course or practitioner meets the educational criteria as set out by a College (if a professional title is being sought) or if there is recognition by an Association that has been granted an Occupational Title Designation.
Some healing modalities have Registered Trademark after their description or modality name, such as with RolfingTM and JinShinJyutsuTM and BodyTalkTM. A Registered Trademark does not necessarily mean that the course of study meets government standards for professional or occupational designation has a college for public complaints, etc. It is a form of corporate exclusivity and allows for authenticity control and allows an organisation to keep its name, standards, fees and requirements as high as they wish. It discourages copycats. The trademark is only good for the country it is registered in. So, if a designation is “trademarked,” one can check to see which countries honour it. 
Some modalities have been around for a long time and the word(s) describing them cannot be trademarked - reflexology and Reiki come to mind.

Reiki and reflexology, for example, cannot harm the public and therefore practitioners of this healing modality can not receive Occupational Title Recognition by our present legislation’s definition. (Unless you want to consider some crazy scenario where someone wishes to pull out a toe, it takes only normal smarts to assess that the practitioner or teacher you are seeing is performing at a high level of competence.)
The above examples show that there may not ever be a certifying or regulating body for many types of healing modalities for a long time. That also means that there are no designations for these modalities and their practitioners. They do not have official letters and designations after their names. In healing modalities that are not governed by the Society Act of BC, words such as “certification, registration, etc, etc of this and that.” is truly a designation given by the teacher or individual with whom you have signed up as a kind gesture or subtle advertising.

Occasionally some schools and individuals come together to form a group, for example the Canadian Reiki Association and The Reflexology Association of Canada. Associations can be local, national and international and have many varying standards and requirements of its memberships. These groups often have newsletters, web sites, a web store, etc., and a place where members may be listed and can blog. These organisations are often managed by hard working volunteers but accreditation or legislative certification doesn’t exist. This is not to be confused with the requirements and regulations set out by some municipalities that are looking for all sorts of certifications in order to give out business licenses (and where the bureaucrats do not understand the process), such as the bizarre twists and turns put out by the Greater Toronto city fathers and causing chaos, especially in the Reiki community.

The Reflexology Association of Canada (RAC), for example, had for many years maintained that they were the only reflexology organisation that was allowed to certify and this was reinforced by their teachers, even here in BC. This was incorrect and to the detriment of other non-RAC teachers in this province. The RAC newsletters maintained that national recognition was imminent, while this was legislatively impossible and no such promises could have been made federally by any ministry. Health legislation for reflexologists is provincial and no Occupational Title Protection designation in BC for reflexologists is granted or possible because it can not be shown that an “uncertified” reflexologist can be a risk to the public?

So in spite of RAC’s excellent educational tools and courses and examinations and teachers,  the words "of Canada” and “certification” are not a license for exclusivity or legislative recognition or an opportunity to put letters after one’s name.

So, technically speaking, anyone may call themselves a reflexologist. To practice reflexology successfully and effectively, it makes sense to undertake good training. Currently there is no established “standard” or standardization for courses offered in BC. Each school of reflexology has it’s own standards and requirements for students to receive a certificate.

When the Society Act of BC gives Occupational Title Designation (very rare) then the letters after a person’s name is legal and meaningful such as RA, RMT and ND.

But when you see CRA-RM what do you think? Maybe: a Reiki Master who is a member of the Canadian Reiki Association. This means that the Reiki teacher may have spent many years and in excess of $10,000 studying or may have taken an almost free quickie course and paid fees of about $25 to $100 to take out membership in the non-profit association that somehow has conferred designations without authority - a marketing whim. This can be VERY misleading because it doesn't even refer to Reiki masters, even though they may i=use these latters!

How about these: HLB, LBA, BTA, RM?  Clairvoyance required here! HLB stands for the first letters of the surnames of three amazing men who pioneered live blood analysis in Europe 100 years ago; LBA stands for Live Blood Analyst; BTA stands for Bio Terrain Assessment and RM stands for Registered MidWife (and is the only valid and legal designation in this line-up - conferred by the Occupational Title Designation by the BC provincial government and well deserved for the practitioners who have dedicated hundreds of hours to learning, exams, practicums, registrations and continuing education).

Buyer Beware!