Credentials

Massage therapy in California is a regulated profession. Credentials answer one question — is this practitioner authorized to do this work? They don't answer the second, more important question, which is whether you should trust them with your recovery. That second answer comes from how I show up for patients, who I refer to when something is outside my scope, and how transparently I work with the surgeon directing each recovery. The approach page tries to be honest about that.

California Massage Therapy Certification  · 2014

Issued by California Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC)  · #82919

Active, in good standing

Public regulatory record. CAMTC is the State of California's regulatory body for massage therapists.

Verify with the issuing body →

Clinical & Medical Massage — 750-hour Certification  · 2014

From National Holistic Institute, Emeryville CA

Graduate of NHI's 750-hour Clinical & Medical Massage program.

Manual Lymphatic Drainage — Vodder Method

From Vodder School International

Vodder is one of four recognized MLD lineages (Vodder, Földi, Casley-Smith, Leduc). Post-operative drainage emphasis.

{{NEEDS-OPERATOR-FILL: Vodder certification year + cohort + instructor}}

Professional memberships

• Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals (ABMP)  — Member, professional liability insured

  {{NEEDS-OPERATOR-FILL: ABMP member ID + join year}}

• Manual Lymph Drainage Association of North America (MLDA-NA)  — Member

  {{NEEDS-OPERATOR-FILL: MLDA-NA member ID + join year}}

Each of the bodies above maintains a different kind of public record. They serve different purposes; treat them together as a small triangulation exercise rather than a single authoritative stamp.

• CAMTC public portal — enter certificate number 82919 to confirm current standing. CAMTC is the only body of the three with state-regulatory authority: it administers the California Massage Therapy Act (Business & Professions Code §4600 et seq.) and can suspend or revoke certification for violations. A clean CAMTC record is the floor for legal practice in California, not a ceiling.
• National Holistic Institute — alumni records and program details are available on request from NHI.
• Vodder School International — the Vodder lineage is internationally recognized in clinical MLD settings; vodderschool.com publishes its curriculum, instructor roster, and the international Dr. Vodder Academy's standards.
• ABMP + MLDA-NA — membership status is verifiable via each body's public directory or by contacting them directly. Membership lapses if continuing education requirements aren't met, so a current listing is a meaningful signal.

Credentials are necessary, not sufficient. The bodies above can confirm that a practitioner is authorized to do the work and has met the minimum educational and ethical standards required of the role. They cannot confirm that the practitioner chooses to work within the bounds of their scope every day, communicates honestly with the surgeons directing patient care, or knows when to refer out. Those qualities are what actually matter in YMYL practice. The scope-of-practice page is where I lay out the lines I explicitly don't cross and the protocols I follow when the answer is unclear.

For how all of this lands in practice, see my approach to post-operative care. For where I studied and who trained me, the training page covers it.