Features Collaboration Practice
MTAA acknowledges supporters

The MTAA is proudly synonymous with the massage therapy profession in Alberta, serving as a flagship for Alberta Massage Therapists who believe in the importance of providing quality massage therapy care to the Alberta public. MTAA members are confident, inspired health professionals who are dedicated to patient centred care and practicing throughout the province of Alberta.

Since 1953, the MTAA has been a provincially focused, non-profit organization exclusively representing massage therapists – a continual challenge that has proven itself to yield positive change and growth. Once considered a ‘fringe’ therapy, massage therapy is now the most widely accessed Complementary Alternative Medicine (CAM) in Canada, with 1.5 Billion Dollars being spent annually on massage therapy across Canada. As one of the founding members of the Canadian Massage Therapist Alliance (CMTA), the MTAA continues to support the advancement of the profession both provincially and nationally.

"It’s a pretty incredible time to be involved in the profession, and specifically, with the MTAA" says Pamela Kats, massage therapist and MTAA President, "It’s not every day that you get to be part of such a revolutionary organization. For myself, the best part is being able to look at things such as our previous Vision Statement and realize that we actualized it…how many organizations can truly say that?!" Effectively being a strong and successful advocate, the MTAA has gone from having the vision of massage therapy being recognized as a profession by government and other health care professionals to one that is focused on building a culture of excellence through leadership and innovation – enabling the profession to promote the optimal health of the community by delivering quality care within a collaborative health care system.

Massage therapy is well on the way to being a formal health profession, with regulation under the Health Professions Act in Alberta and several other jurisdictions in Canada on the horizon. The MTAA’s long history of setting and maintaining high standards for entry to practice, professional development and upholding accountability to the Alberta public are what make our organization truly unique and a much needed staple in the Alberta non-profit and health care landscape. Recognizing the need for a larger evidence base required to advance the credibility of the profession, the MTAA is proud to announce their sponsorship of a Massage Therapy specific research grant being offered in co-operation with the Inter-disciplinary Network for Complementary Alternative Medicine (IN-CAM). 

2013 marks a significant milestone in MTAA history – the organization is tremendously proud of its past and even more excited about its future.  To commemorate this landmark in massage therapy history, the MTAA is hosting a special 60^th Diamond Anniversary Conference from November 1 – 5, 2013 in Kananaskis, Alberta. 

Announcements regarding various celebrations being held throughout the year can be found by visiting the MTAA website http://www.mtaalberta.com/  or Facebook: www.facebook.com/MTAAlberta