Worldwide Registry Requirements for Watsu® Practitioner

In the light of recent discussion in the Spas Plus Group concerning Watsu credentials for spa service, I thought it would be valuable to post here the current requirements given on the WABA website.

(WABA - Worldwide Aquatic Bodywork Association)

The outline below will also help anyone trying to understand (if not solve!) the thorny issue of meeting different US State requirements. Good idea to bear this in mind if you move between States or come to the US to practice.

WABA and the training institutes do their best to insure and assure of standards of sessions in practice. I'd love to see more recognition of experience though and some good mentoring of new practitoners. A network like this could facilitate that!

RE Spas: note the difference between Professional Practitioner and Provider below. I think it is a pity this reduced option is in place but I believe that it was in part an attempt to meet the spa venues 'half way'.

Also, in the light of recent ATRI e-list discussions about who does 'aquatic therapy', I am currently writing an article on the value of documentation and research in aquatic alternatives, and on the important differences between clinical and non-clinical practice methods*.

It is interesting to note below that an ATRI Certified Aquatic Therapist (2003 Standards) with over 500 hours of certified training is considered eligible for the Professional Watsu training along with various other health professionals.

(*This will be part of a workshop I am offering at the ATRI National Aquatic Healthcare Conference in Chicago this November.)

Please note: I am not posting this with the intention of stirring up arguments about who is qualified to do what. Rather for information purposes only, and to demonstrate what a complex issue credentials can be and that in the end the 'proof is in the pudding' (as we say in England)!

From the WABA website:

WABA oversees and authorizes Aquatic Bodywork courses, programs, providers, practitioners and instructors and maintains their authorizations and transcripts on the Worldwide Registry. WABA also authorizes 4 training institutes to offer variants of its programs.

Anyone wishing to enter this field must understand the difference between certification, registration and licensure. Certificates are issued by state approved schools. Some licensing agencies will only accept courses and certificates obtained at a state approved school. Since most of our students are already licensed to work with the body and can add Watsu as a modality to their existing practice, WABA has authorized instructors to teach anybody in clinics and spas and wherever else Watsu is needed. Wherever they are taught, instructors add all Aquatic Bodywork classes to the transcript on the Registry that is maintained for every student. Whether the classes were taught at a school or not, whether the student is licensed to touch or not, when all the requirements are met and the student requests it, WABA will add their authorization to the Registry.

If you do not already have a license to touch. If you wish to work with the public in an area where licensure is required, check what the local requirements are. If they include certification from a state approved school, determine if there is a school where Watsu is taught that will meet those requirements, or plan to obtain that licensure through another modality at a local school before, during or after your Watsu studies. (Be aware that courses taken outside a state approved school may fulfill a requirement for a pre-requisites, but probably can not be transferred into the school as credit).

If you already have a license to touch. If you are already employed in a spa, clinic or other facility, you may become authorized to practice as a Provider under a contract to complete the full requirements to be a practitioner within a specified period of time. Otherwise you can complete your requirements to be listed as a practitioner under the program below that takes into account the applicability of your previous education.

Worldwide Requirements to be placed on the Registry as a Watsu® Practitioner – 2008

Note: the rate of progress through any of our programs is based on the successful completion of each step. Many students benefit by auditing a course (repeating it at a usually reduced cost), or by attending a supervision, or logging additional practice sessions, before continuing on to the next step. Instructors will note when these are required. Since audits and supervisions can help fulfill the electives required, they do not usually lengthen a student's overall program.

A
Watsu 1 and 2 (100 hours)
Log 20 practice sessions
either a Supervision , Integration or audit of Watsu 2 , demonstrate competency.

B
Watsu 3 (50 hours)
Have attended, including the above courses and additional audits or electives, at least 200 hours of WABA Aquatic Bodywork courses.
Current CPR certification
Log 10 sessions received from a professional (Before, during or after the above).

C
100 hours of Shiatsu and/or Tantsu(3)
100 hours of Anatomy/Physiology(3)
Enough additional hours of WABA Aquatic Bodywork courses to bring the total hours of classes and supervisions to 500 (520 In Europe(4)).

Licensed Professional (2) Practitioner

Those with a current license to touch(2) who have attended at least 50 hours of shiatsu or its equivalent may add Watsu as an additional modality to their current practice on completion of A + B above. Those who have not had a shiatsu course but demonstrate sufficient knowledge of bodywork may take the shiatsu course as their first continuing education.

Licensed Professional (2) Provider

Licensed Professionals (2) currently employed at a spa, clinic or sports club, etc. may, under the contract described below, provide Watsu sessions to the clients at that location upon completion of A above.

Provider Contract

The provider agrees to complete required courses at the rate of 50 hours a year and to have completed any other requirements, such as logging 10 received sessions by the time all coursework is completed. The Provider contract must include a clause in which the owner of the facility where the sessions will be provided signs an acknowledgment that their continued employment is based on their fulfilling this contract. In regions where Training Institutes oversee the Provider programs additional requirements appropriate to the region may be in place.

Registration

On completion of the appropriate program student may apply to WABA to be registered as a Watsu Practitioner or a Watsu Provider. There is a $50 fee for the registration. There is a renewal fee of $50 (every year in the U.S or every two years in other countries) and, for Practitioners, a continuing education requirement of having at least 50 hours of authorized Aquatic Bodywork courses listed on the WABA transcript attended during the 3 years prior to the renewal year.

Public Listing

Currently registered practitioners may choose to list themselves to the public on the WABA site. Normally a provider can not list themselves to the public as giving Watsu sessions until they become a Watsu Practitioner. In countries where Watsu 3 is not yet available providers may request to be listed and that listing will be determined on an individual basis.

1) Demonstrate Competency. After Watsu 2 and 20 logged sessions, before attending Watsu 3, give a session to an authorized assistant or instructor during a Supervision, Integration or audit of Watsu 2. Mastery of the form and principles of Watsu is required for placement as provider or practitioner.

2) Licensed Professionals eligible for this program includes Nationally Certified Massage Therapist (NCBTMB), Licensed Physical Therapist or Physical Therapy Assistant, Licensed Occupational Therapist or Occupational Therapist Assistant, Registered Nurse (BSN/MSN), License to practice Medicine or Dentistry (MD/DO/DC/DDS/DMD), State Licensed/Certified Massage Therapist (500+ Hours), ATRI Certified Aquatic Therapist (2003 Standards) with over 500 hours of certified training. Those with an extensive bodywork practice in an area where the minimum requirements were less than 500 hours may reduce the 500 hundred hour minimum by 50 hours for each year of full time bodywork practice. Those with similar qualifications will be considered on a case by case basis.

3) Transfer Credits Requirements may be fulfilled by transferring credits from an equivalent course taken elsewhere. Any number of courses up to the required total hours may be transferred into your transcript on the Registry at one time for a fee of $50. Training Institutes may oversee these transfers.

Training Institutes with special programs that incorporate WABA requirements for registering Providers and Practitioners
(more to be added)

The School of Shiatsu and Massage
Watsu France
Watsu Italia
Watsu India
Watsu Netherlands
German IAKA
AquaTerra (Europe)
Trinity Spa Academy
Okinawa WATSU Center
Instituto Brasiliero

(Unique versions of Watsu 1 and 2 are taught in IAKA programs. Students wishing to attend a IAKA Watsu 2 after taking Watsu 1 elsewhere must first attend a Supervision and demonstrate readiness, likewise those wishing to attend the Worldwide version of Watsu 2 after IAKA Watsu 1.)

Healing Dance US Requirements (see separate document)

Note: Those who began their studies under an earlier program may, if they complete its requirements within 24 months of their first class, be registered under that program, or, if they prefer (or it has been more than 24 months), they may apply previous classes to the above program.