Our northwest massage school is proud to have hosted this year’s American Massage Therapy Association of Oregon conference! On April 24th and 25th, licensed massage therapists from across the state attended the AMTA-OR conference to earn message therapy continuing education credits, and to polish their skills. An East West College instructor contributed to the conference by facilitating a session on spa modalities.

The American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) is the nation’s largest non-profit organization serving massage schools, massage therapists, and massage students. Among the many roles that the AMTA serves, the organization promotes massage to the general public; lobbies for just massage therapy licensing across all fifty states; and supports massage therapy research.

The Oregon chapter of the AMTA offers additional resources and support for Beaver State LMT’s. The Oregon AMTA wields a professional lobbyist to represent therapists’ interests in Salem. AMTA-OR also maintains a quarterly newsletter and website with useful information for LMTs, among other chapter activities.

Featured classes at the AMTA-OR conference included Structural Relief Therapy for the Shoulder, Arm & Hand; The Ethics of Client Communication; Sports Massage (for those interested in working with professional athletes); Make research Relevant to Me (for those wanting to learn how to apply research to their practice); and finally, Therapeutic Benefits of Spa Modalities in Massage Practice—with our very own Sarah B. Davis!

The conference occurred on April 24th from 5-9pm and on April 25th from 7am-6pm.  For more information, including a detailed schedule, please visit the AMTA-OR website. We enjoyed hosting the Oregon AMTA conference, where Portland massage therapy practitioners and educators gathered for learning, networking, and community support.