ASSOCIATED BODYWORK & MASSAGE PROFESSIONALS SPONSORS
GROUNDBREAKING TEXTBOOK ON MASSAGE INSTRUCTION
Joins Lippincott Williams & Wilkins in Boosting Teaching Skills
(Evergreen, Colo., Jan. 31) – Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals (ABMP) today announced its sponsorship of an instructors’ textbook in massage therapy — the first of its kind — in a joint effort with publisher Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW). Slated for release in May, the book’s focus is providing support for teaching skills to massage therapy instructors.
ABMP convened a meeting of 17 massage profession leaders in Denver last spring to launch the initiative, resulting in a 360-page hardcover textbook titled, Teaching Massage: Fundamental Principles in Adult Education for Massage Program Instructors. The package includes an online learning component so instructors can gain continuing education credits while honing teaching skills. As sponsor of the effort, ABMP dedicated education director Anne Williams, massage therapist, instructor and author,(1) to project coordination and creation of the online training materials.
“The summit was an inspiring experience that drew from 500 years collective experience in massage therapy and education,” said ABMP president Les Sweeney, NCTM. “This brain trust is bringing best practices to a generation of teachers who will significantly shape the future of massage and its acceptance by consumers. “The rapid proliferation of massage training programs over the last decade has spread highly skilled teachers and massage therapy veterans too thin,” Sweeney said. “While our research suggests school growth has slowed, the need for strong training programs and well-trained instructors remains.”(2) Teaching Massage will retail for $169.95 and will be available from LWW at www.lww.com. State-recognized massage therapy programs will receive a free introductory copy from LWW and ABMP, along with an access code for sampling the online training.
“Instructors can gain further knowledge with the self-paced online learning unit,” Williams said. “There are completion certificates teachers can earn at each level of the training.”
Comprehensive Teaching Skills Teaching Massage offers techniques and practices common to all adult learners, then provides specialized knowledge on how to apply that wisdom to massage therapy teaching. The book includes information on teaching
philosophy and learning styles, a variety of educational approaches, such as direct and interactive instruction, student-directed and experiential learning, methods for building critical thinking skills and promotion of active learning. Other chapters address student motivation, classroom management, students with learning challenges, lesson planning, and teaching specialty massage techniques.
As the other half of the educational equation, ABMP launched a comprehensive
training program for students last August, a package that includes desktop
and online resources.
“ABMP’s commitment is to provide tools for the profession that will help consumer acceptance of massage continue to flourish,” Sweeney said. ABMP is the nation’s largest massage membership association with 62,000 members. Headquartered in Evergreen, Colo., ABMP is celebrating its 20th year serving the massage therapy profession. LWW is a leading international publisher of professional health information
for physicians, nurses, specialized clinicians and students. LWW provides essential information for healthcare professionals in print and electronic formats, including textbooks, journals, CD-ROM, and via Intranets and the Internet.
(1)Williams is author of Spa Bodywork: A Guide for Massage Therapists,
Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore, Md. Copyright 2007.
(2)ABMP surveys showed explosive growth (107.1 percent from 1998 to 2004) in
enrollment and graduation numbers, but an early 2007 analysis showed the
first (slight) decline in that indicator since ABMP school surveys began in
1998. ABMP’s school database peaked at 1,582 schools in 2006, leveling off
in 2007 to 1,571 schools.
Nora Brunner, MA, APR
Public Relations
Editor, Skin Deep Magazine
Associated Skin Care Professionals
Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals
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