A new bill, Oregon SB 298, has been introduced in the Oregon Senate that proposes to regulate bodywork practitioners in same manner that Oregon law currently regulates massage therapists. Under the bill, those practicing bodywork would be required to obtain a state license, just as massage practitioners are currently required to do. “Bodywork” is defined in the bill as: “any form of touch therapy that uses manipulation, movement, energy or repatterning to produce structural and functional changes to the body.”
Applicants for a bodywork license would be required to meet qualifications similar to those required for massage licensure. The bill states that both massage therapists and bodyworkers would be required to complete 750 hours of massage or bodywork education. The current law requires 500 hours for massage therapists. Additionally, bodywork license applicants, like massage therapists, would be required to pass a Board-approved competency exam.
The bill would maintain the licensure exclusions currently in place, including exclusions for reflexology, movement therapy, and energy work, as long as certain conditions are met, including that the practitioner holds the relevant professional certification and does not hold him or herself out as a bodyworker or massage therapist.
ABMP is opposed to the bill. ABMP and the other leadership organizations in the profession invested in the Entry-Level Analysis Project (ELAP: http://www.elapmassage.org/) for a reason. Published in December 2013, ELAP was a research project that organized and defined the content and recommended a minimum number of training hours necessary to acquire knowledge and skills essential for safe and competent practice as an entry-level massage therapist. ABMP supports the entry-level standard of 625 hours in the core subjects outlined in the ELAP report.
We also question the purpose of adding a definition and title for “bodywork” to the massage law while maintaining licensure exclusions such as reflexology, movement therapy, etc. Such other practices involving touch usually use the term “bodywork.” It will likely just add to the general exemption confusion.
ABMP approached the Oregon Board of Massage Therapy with our concerns and it is our understanding the 750 hours will be changed to 625 hours but the bill has not yet been formally amended. We will keep you updated on any important developments on this bill.
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