Massage Therapy School
Learn Massage Therapy

Finding the right massage therapy school is the most important first step to help you become a massage therapist. Different schools have different focuses and the school you attend will shape the direction your career takes in the future.

Before applying for a school find out what requirements the state you live in has for massage. You need to know how many credit hours you need to take in order to get a license or certification. Some states don't require that you go to school for massage. You can take a few classes or even do an aprenticeship in those states. If you are considering living in a different state than the one you'll attend school in, you need to make sure you're training will be accepted in that state. Knowing what type of therapy you're most interested in will help you decide where to learn massage.

Massage therapy school usually runs from $5,000 to $10,000. The lenght of time you're in school varies greatly according to the state. Massage therapy school programs run anywhere from 6 months to 2 years.

The most important thing you have to consider is the quality of the massage therapy school. There are lots of schools that teach massage. Some places are brand new and some have been around for a long long time. When looking for a school you must make sure that the school gives you the traiing you'll need to be a great massage therapist. Beside teaching you how to massage, the school should teach anatomy, ethics, massage law, and have a class about how to set up your own business. When you graduate from school you should have a clear understanding of biomechanics and know some basic causes of pain and how to treat them.

Your school should have classes in the type of massage you want to focus on. If you're unsure about the type of massage you want to do, attend a school that offers a wide variety of classes. There are many different types of massage and many possibilities for your massage career.

When I was looking for a massage school to attend I was trying to decide between two schools in my area. I chose the school that I attended because after looking into it, I found out that they were the oldest massage school in the area. Their program was more therapeutic based than the other one and I'd decided that I wanted to specialize in therapeutic massage.

Just because you think you know what you type of massage you want to specialize in now doesn't mean that you won't change your mind. When I first started attending massage school, I wanted to specialize in prenatal and infant massage. I thought that would be a perfect combination and was even considering getting training to become a doula. When I entered school I was introduced to neuromuscular therapy and CranioSacral therapy and I decided I wanted to study them.

Now that you know the requirements for your state and the type of massage you want to focus on you can go to this site to find a massage therapy school near you. When you find a school search for information about them online or even ask massage therapists in your area what they think of the school.

When you go for an interview with the school's admissions officer make sure you find out if they school offers finacial aid if you need it. Find out if they have a job placement program. Also find out what kind of assistance they give for taking state licensing exams. Before you enroll it's good to sit in on a class to see what you think of the quality of instruction. Most schools will let you do that. If the school won't you might want to consider attending another school.