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2025 Assembly of Delegates Report
AMTA National Convention
Kim Alexander, Delegate
The AMTA Assembly of Delegates (AOD) met before the opening of the National Convention held in Dallas. The meeting was held the afternoon of August 20. I was in attendance, representing the Kentucky Chapter, along with Whitney Oates.
Since the election in March, National has been hosting open houses for discussion of topics relevant to the state chapters. The open houses are designed to allow the delegates to interact before the conference. We have participated in discussions with delegates from across the country via Zoom and also by email.
AOD Delegates receive Position Statements and Discussion Topics a few months before National Convention, which have been submitted by members in the hopes of becoming the AMTA's official stance on a subject or for consideration for future Position Statements. We review them, discuss various points, ask questions of the author/s for clarification purposes, before making them public to our state’s members. We send out emails with the discussion information and connect it to the Kentucky Chapter.
We ask our members to email us their questions, concerns, and thoughts. Delegates take this information to the AOD meeting, where we have discussions in small groups and can address the moderator/delegates with these perspectives, along with our own.
There were several Position Statements and Discussion Topics in 2025 submitted for consideration. Two discussion topics were selected by National for further discussion and consideration at the 2025 conference.
Trauma and Massage Therapy – 2-part question
A. What are the ethical considerations when working with clients who disclose trauma (or those whose bodies reveal trauma responses, and how can standardized education help therapists navigate these delicate moments with care, efficacy, and professionalism?
B. How might a deeper understanding of trauma change the way massage therapists choose modalities/techniques, build rapport, communicate boundaries, and create safe environments for clients?
Mentoring
How can AMTA revitalize its mentorship program for massage therapists?
During the AOD meeting, the first discussion questions were reworded a bit. The word ‘required’ was a big part of the conversation. The interchange extended into requiring trauma-informed education at the entry level, and there was a mixture of responses. Some groups thought it should be a requirement to enter the field, and others thought it was more advanced and should only be defined at the entry level.
Scope of practice and staying within the scope of practice were a large part of the rationale. Referring to the 2024 conversation about universal definitions, there was a lengthy conversation as well about how to define trauma.
The second discussion question generated a lot of great suggestions for AMTA. I would estimate that about 60-70% of the delegates present did not even know that AMTA had an infrastructure for mentoring. The primary takeaways from the online and in-person discussions for this topic include:
A. Increasing visibility on the AMTA National website – the mentoring page is buried deeply on the website. If you were not actively looking for it, you probably would miss it.
B. School liaison visibility – perhaps having a time at National for a mentoring meet-up and pairing for discussion would promote the process. School liaisons could actively assist those looking for mentoring through local chapters.
C. Expand the infrastructure – provide more guidance for mentors and mentees
D. Provide CE’s for mentors – the state of Missouri has it built into their regs as potential CE options
The discussion topics generated a robust discussion in all groups. There was no new information provided regarding the 2024 Discussion Topic and Position Statement for closure at the conference, although many delegates (including myself) had asked for the information.
I felt the information gained was important and look forward to next year’s outcomes on these subjects, as well as new Position Statements and Discussion Topics.
Thank you for the opportunity to represent Kentucky members at the National level.
Kim Alexander, AMTA- KY Delegate
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