2012 Class Schedule: Better than Ever!

Feb 18-19 (Sat & Sun) LauraAllenMT will be teaching Spa Techniques without a Wetroom. I really hate to call this a class–it’s a weekend at the Spa! We’ll cover hot stone techniques, Raindrop Therapy, mud treatments, salt scrubs, body wraps, and paraffin treatments….you’ll give and receive all these treatments for less money than one or two treatments cost in some of the ritzy spas! If you have access to running water, you can do any of these in your office.  Adding spa treatments to your menu of services breaks up the monotony and saves your hands! We have a blast at this class. 16 CE Contact Hours, $175.

March 2 (Fri) Vicki Bates will be teaching Techniques for Shoulder Pain at THERA-SSAGE. Vicki is a master at getting people out of pain, and she’ll show you her best protocols for helping clients with shoulder pain due to stress, tension, rotator cuff injuries, thoracic outlet syndrome, and more. 8 CE Contact Hours, $150.

March 3 (Sat) Vicki Bates will be teaching Techniques for Low Back Pain at THERA-SSAGE. Whether it’s chronic pain or an injury, Low Back Pain is the most common pathology on the planet. Most people will suffer from it at one time or another. Vicki will share some great sequences for helping relieve LBP, including reviewing the difference in injuries caused when the client was bending straight over vs. injuries caused when the client was twisting. Different injuries, different focus. 8 CE Contact Hours, $150.

March 16 (Fri-Sun), Laura Allen will be teaching for the mini-convention held by the SC Chapter of AMTA in beautiful Charleston, SC. Friday March 16, I’ll be teaching a 6 CE Contact Hour class in Marketing for MTs. Based on my book, One Year to a Successful Massage Therapy Practice (LWW, 2008), the focus is on low -cost and no-cost ways of increasing your massage practice. The session will be full of information about effective and ineffective advertising, pitfalls to be avoided, tracking return on investment and more. Also, assuming responsibility for positive action in order to succeed will be reinforced. This class is in Charleston, SC. You must register directly with the SC Chapter of AMTA.

Saturday March 17, Laura Allen will be teaching The Educated Heart: Ethics, Roles & Boundaries for MTs 6 CE hours. Based on The Educated Heart by Nina McIntosh, this class picks up where most other Ethics classes drop the ball. While most Ethics classes tend to focus on the boundaries of the client — and those will of course be discussed — the boundaries of the therapist are just as important. Careful maintenance of your own boundaries are often the difference in being truly prosperous and successful and just getting by. This is a very interactive class; please feel free to bring your ethical dilemmas to the table as there will be plenty of opportunity for peer review and instructor supervision.  This class is in Charleston, SC. You must register directly with the SC Chapter of AMTA.

Sunday March 18, Laura Allen will be teaching Using Research to Market Your Massage Therapy Practice 3 CE hours Research doesn?t have to be scary! You don’t have to be a researcher — but you need to know how and where to locate massage therapy research and how to share that with other health care providers and the general public. This class is in Charleston, SC. You must register directly with the SC Chapter of AMTA.

Sunday March 18, during the afternoon Laura Allen will be teaching  Intake Protocols & SOAP Charting for Medical Massage  3 CE hours There are a number of good reasons to bump up the quality of your intake process and your SOAP charting: you may have the desire to accept insurance cases such as personal injury or worker’s compensation cases, or want to work as a provider in the office of a chiropractor or physician. The SOAP notes that most of us learned in school don?t go far enough to satisfy insurance companie s. The intake process is full of opportunities to make your sessions go better — or make mistakes, especially with first-time clients. This class is in Charleston SC. You must register directly with the SC Chapter of AMTA.

April 13 (Fri) Vicki Bates will be teaching Introduction to Lymphatic Drainage at THERA-SSAGE. Review the anatomy and terminology of the lymphatic system, and learn a simple routine of manual lymph drainage that you may use as a stand-alone therapy or incorporate into any massage. 8 CE Contact Hours, $150.

April 14 (Sat) Laura Allen will be teaching Successful Massage Therapy Practice at Georgia Northwestern Technical College in Rome, GA. This class will have a heavy emphasis on marketing, taxes, and the business of how to make (and keep) your money. 7 CE Contact Hours, $75. You must register directly with them by contacting Elaine Johnston. Telephone: 706-295-6382
Email: ejohnston@gntc.edu.

April 14 (Sat) Vicki Bates will be teaching Techniques for TMJ Dysfunction at THERA-SSAGE. TMJ work is one of the biggest money-makers in my office. We receive many doctor referrals for it. Review the muscles of mastication and learn the protocol that will bring relief to sufferers of this common condition. 6 CE Contact Hours, $140.

April 19-21, Laura Allen will be teaching in Bismark, ND for the North Dakota Chapter of AMTA. Details soon on their website. You must register directly with them.

April 21-22 (Sat-Sun) Theta Michele Drivon will be teaching  The Alexander Technique: Rewire Bad Habits That Cause Tension & Pain at THERA-SSAGE. The Alexander Technique is all about movement and postural education…particularly helpful to musicians, office workers, dental hygienists, hairdressers, factory workers…anyone who performs repetitive motion work. You do not have to be a massage therapist in order to take this class or use these techniques. 12 CE Contact Hours. $215.

May 11-13 (Fri-Sun) Laura Allen will be teaching at the Obus School of Healing Therapies in Leixlip (near Dublin) Ireland. Details of the class and registration are on their website at www.obus.ie You must make your own travel arrangements. I have built a page about Ireland, how to get there, where to stay, etc, and you can access that here.

August 17-19 (Fri- Sun) Cancer Massage: Integrative Touch Therapies for Persons Experiencing Cancer with Vickie Torrey. Each person who has attended this class has been blessed by it, and come away with special insight into how to treat this population. Cancer patients are invited to attend the class to receive bodywork on Saturday and Sunday. Cancer massage dictates a more thorough intake process and consideration of the individual’s condition, but this totally busts the old myth about not massaging people with cancer. Every year we have oncologists who send their patients to this class. Vickie Torrey was trained at Sloan-Kettering and is one of the most well-loved teachers that visits THERA-SSAGE. 21 CE Contact Hours. $395.

Sept 7-9 (Fri-Sun), Nancy Toner Weiberger will be teaching The Manifest Mind. There is only one place that we experience our physical existence: our body. Every experience we have is filtered through our senses, which dance within the world of body. Every thought, every belief, is based upon what we have experienced in that private world. Living, breathing, changing mind and living, breathing, changing body- moving together, dancing through life- this is the milieu of deep mind. Reach this world of body-mind and influence is boundless, effects profound and lasting.

Touch and movement are two of the most powerful tools we can use to create experience in the private world of another. With sensitivity and respect, we can create new experiences that invite harmony and healing to the body-mind. In this hands-on experiential class, you will learn to unlock and utilize the body-mind relationship in your own body and in your work with clients. You will:

• Learn a series of easy movements you can do for yourself to release the stress of your work and feel good at the end of your day.
• Learn a series of movements for use at your table, which will help your client to release long-standing patterns of tension in the body.
• Learn to work more intuitively- develop listening hands and perceive the needs of the tissue directly.
• Feel great and have fun.
• Go back to your practice revitalized and excited to work with your clients in a new way.

This class is for professional therapists or advanced massage school students. Wear or bring loose or stretchy clothing (no jeans). Each student should bring a set of sheets, cream or lotion if that is what you customarily use, and pillows or props for comfort if desired.  21 CE Hours; Tuition: $395

Sept 22-24 (Sat-Mon) Christine Courtney will be teaching Indian Head Massage! This is one of our most popular classes year after year! Indian Head Massage is an excellent chair massage that is performed in a regular chair–not a massage chair–and it is simply amazing. It’s unusual to experience a chair massage that is so profoundly relaxing–and then you stand up and you’re full of energy! Christine is the owner of the Obus School of Healing Therapies in Dublin, Ireland, and it’s worth coming to the class just to hear her speak! She is one of the most knowledgeable practitioners of the healing arts I have ever met. Along with this class, which is 21 hours, you will receive a 3 hour Standard V Ethics class taught by Laura Allen (the Ethics is thrown in for free so that everyone can meet their requirements on one weekend; if you don’t need Ethics you may be excused, but there is no difference in the price). 24 CE Contact Hours, $375. This class has previously sold out as far as several months ahead of time so don’t wait to register! Bring a towel and a hair comb to this class.

Sept 28-30 (Fri-Sun) Christine Courtney will be teaching Traditional Chinese Medicine. Learn the Ancient Traditions of Chinese Medicine, including the broad range of medicine practices sharing common theoretical concepts which have been developed in China and are based on a tradition of more than 2,000 years.Christine is the owner of the Obus School of Healing Therapies in Dublin, Ireland, and one of the most knowledgeable practitioners of the healing arts I have ever met. Along with this class, which is 21 hours, you will receive a 3 hour Standard V Ethics class taught by Laura Allen (the Ethics is thrown in for free so that everyone can meet their requirements on one weekend; if you don’t need Ethics you may be excused, but there is no difference in the price). 24 CE Contact Hours, $375.

October 13-14 (Sat-Sun) Howard Weingarten will be teaching “Whitney Lowe’s Orthopedic Massage Techniques 1 - Lower Body Learn treatment and assessment strategies for many commonly occurring  back, pelvis and lower extremity problems such as low back pain, piriformis syndrome, illiotibial syndrome, shin splints, knee injuries, plantar fasciitis and other nerve entrapment and overuse problems. This workshop is a fast paced, fun learning experience with lots of useful anatomical information, multimedia presentation, applicable techniques and thinking exercises geared to make you a better clinical therapist. The course is 16 CEs and is Sat and Sun from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm.  Lowe’s text Orthopedic Assessment in Massage Therapy is required. Howard Weingarten has been a lead instructor for OMERI ( http://www.omeri.com/bio/howard-weingarten/ ) since 2002. $300.00

Nov 3 (Sat) Vicki Bates will be teaching Techniques for TMJ Dysfunction at THERA-SSAGE. TMJ work is one of the biggest money-makers in my office. We receive many doctor referrals for it. Review the muscles of mastication and learn the protocol that will bring relief to sufferers of this common condition. 6 CE Contact Hours, $140.

Class Deposit and Refund Policy (this is the THERA-SSAGE policy and does not apply to Laura Allen’s classes held elsewhere):

Registering online requires full payment at time of registration. If you prefer to hold your space by paying a deposit at this time, call us at 828-288-3727. A deposit of 1/2 the cost of the class is required to hold your place in class.  If you register within one week of the class, the full amount must be paid. Cancellations made at least two weeks in advance will receive a full refund.  Cancellations of less than two weeks, but more than 1 week in advance of the class, will receive credit towards a future class. Cancellations of less than 1 week will not receive a refund or any future credit.  It is suggested that you register as far in advance as possible, as some classes sell out very early. We will be glad to put you on a notification list for a full class in the event of a cancellation. Many of our instructors are from out of state and need ample time to make travel arrangements. If they don’t have the required number of students at least ten days before a class, it will be cancelled, so don’t wait until the last minute to register.

In the event that we are forced to cancel a class for any reason, we will refund your money in full.  In the event that inclement weather in our area forces the cancellation of any class during the winter months, we will make every attempt to reschedule the class. If you are unable to attend the rescheduled class, your money will be refunded.  In the event inclement weather forces you to cancel your attendance at the last minute (less than 48 hours notice), you will receive credit towards a future class.  We have people attending from several states and we just can’t be responsible for the weather everywhere.