Choosing a Massage Program Choosing a massage therapy school is a very personal choice. For many prospective students, the choice involves complex tradeoffs between finances (such as the need to support a family), age (high school graduate vs. mid-life career change), and future career plans. An easy way to narrow the scope of your search is to ask yourself what you wish to achieve in your training. Ask yourself these few questions to help you narrow your search. - Do I want my own practice?
- Do I want immediate employment in a spa, salon, gym or hospital?
- Do I want to practice massage for medicinal or recreational purposes?
- Who do I want to treat? – athletes, elderly, injured or general public?
Interview the schools. It’s best if you can go to the school and meet the staff. Tour the facility and get a general feeling of how the school is run. What are the overall conditions? Does it seem like the kind of place where you’d be happy for the next 7-12 months?  Questions for Massage Schools Here are some helpful interview questions: - Does the school assist in work placement?
- Is the school accredited?
- Does the school prepare your for both state licensing and the national certification exam?
- Is there a type of massage that the school specializes in?
- Does the school document my course hours with the national certification board?
Time to Completion A full program in massage therapy that prepares you for the certification exam can be as little as 300 hours, plus an externship, for a total of up to 1,000 hours. The national certification exam requires 500 hours of coursework before you can take the exam. State regulations may require more than 500 course hours. Whichever program you choose, you must complete the entire program before taking the exam. Completion of a full-time program can be done in 12 months or less. Massage Therapist Courses A school that focuses on preparation for the national exam will offer courses that fulfill the exam requirements. Below is a sample of courses you should expect to see in a massage program: - Anatomy and physiology
- Theory of massage
- Health values of massage
- Self care
- Hygiene
- Pathology
- Professional ethics
- Business and license procedure
- Contraindications and limitations
You will also learn various types of massage techniques, such as: Schools may also offer courses in specific holistic practices, such as: Massage programs should also be concerned with the amount of hours spent on each course in order to comply with exam requirements. They may keep a log of those hours for you and submit them to the National Certification Board of Massage Therapists and Bodyworkers prior to your taking the exam. Accreditation Accreditation is a standard set by an accrediting organization that regulates a school’s curriculum, training competency and financial standing. A school or program earns accreditation only if it meets the requirements of the accrediting body. Schools can be accredited separately from programs. In other words, an accredited school can offer a massage program that is not accredited. Accreditation becomes important if you wish to pursue further education, such as a physical therapy degree, and want to transfer credits from one institution to another. There are many different organizations that give accreditation to schools and programs. One popular accrediting body for massage programs is the Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation (COMTA). COMTA is affiliated with American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) and is dedicated to maintaining standards of excellence by massage schools nationwide. Accreditation is voluntary and is used to distinguish accredited schools or programs from those that choose not to meet the accrediting standards.  |
