I wanna become a massage therapist, what training should I consider taking?
Friday, February 26th, 2010 at
9:33 am
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Filed under: Alternative Medicine
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No one says "masseuse" – it’s massage therapist. It’s a non-gender-specific term and it gives more credit to the training we go through in order to do what we do.
Learning how to give a massage is merely the tip of the iceberg as far as what you need to know to practice massage safely, effectively, and to the best of your ability. In fact, most of the massage technique, beyond the basic types of strokes and what circumstances they are best suited for, is pretty much "Well this is how I do it, but whatever works for you". The most important parts of a massage therapist’s education concern anatomy, physiology, and pathology. In other words, knowing what’s under the skin you’re touching, what it does, and what might be wrong with it and whether massage would help or hinder that problem. And when getting into anything Chinese, traditional Chinese Medicine is highly complex and takes years of study to understand.
As far as what training you need, opinions differ. My person opinion is that you need as much knowledge and training as you can get your hands on. And in most states you not only go to school initially in order to obtain a license or certification in the first place, but you must seek out continuing education courses over a period of time in order to renew that license or certification. And even if it is not a specific requirement where you live, I really don’t see how one can be a successful and capable therapist without it.
To find out what specifically is required for your area, do a Google search for "massage therapy requirements" and your state.
First off it’s never called a masseuse license, but massage therapist or massage practitioner. Each state has individual requirements but you will have to go to an accredited school, and pass either a certificate or licensing exam.