In the past, I have often recommended looking for a Pilates Method Alliance Certified Pilates Teacher (PMA-CPT) as it means this teacher has passed the bar of the only third party certification in the industry.
However, the designation PMA-CPT has changed.
The title to look for now is Nationally Certified Pilates Teacher (NCPT).
Over the last couple of years, they have not only rebranded but also made changes in the organization to separate the certifying section (National Pilates Certification Program) from the membership arm (Pilates Method Alliance).
For more information and an insider’s peek behind the scenes into the Pilates world, please read on…
There was a landmark legal case in 2000 when a Manhattan Federal Court ruled that Pilates is a generic name (like yoga or karate). It paved the way so that more first generation teachers who studied with Joesph Pilates could use the name Pilates, but it also meant anyone (whether they knew the method, the exercises or that Pilates was even a person) could say they taught Pilates.
Soon after that, the Pilates Method Alliance (PMA) was founded in 2001 as a not-for-profit professional association.* One of the primary goals of the PMA in those early years was to develop an exam to establish Pilates as a profession and protect the public.
PMA hired a professional testing company called Castle Worldwide, Inc (now owned by Scantron) to create the test. Through a long process with the help of a psychometrician (fancy word for professional test developer) and leading experts representing various branches of the Pilates tree, the PMA exam was born in 2005.
It was also in 2005 that the National Pilates Certification Program (NPCP) become “an autonomous division within the Pilates Method Alliance.”**
The PMA exam provides an outside objective standard of measurement and is the only third party exam in the industry. The National Pilates Certification Program (NPCP) even received accreditation from the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) in 2012. The exam is “the only nationally recognized certification for the Pilates industry”.***
As the industry developed, it was only natural that the certification program (NPCP) should separate from the membership program (PMA) from which it grew out of. The PMA continues to represent its’ members and provide a professional association while the NPCP can focus on certification without any potential conflict of interest or other influences.
While the rebranding began a couple of years ago, the final transition into separate organizations was completed at the end of August 2021. It is not an easy thing to rebrand and to create two separate entities, but they have accomplished it.
Though it may take a little getting used to the new Nationally Certified Pilates Teacher (NCPT) designation, ultimately, this is all positive and demonstrates the growth of Pilates as a profession.
*https://pilatesmethodalliance.org/about/
**https://nationalpilatescertificationprogram.org/NPCP/NPCP_Updates.aspx
***https://nationalpilatescertificationprogram.org/NPCP/NPCP_Updates.aspx