Massage Therapy School

If you want to become a massage therapist, check out a massage therapy school in your area. Then check out a few more and compare the programs and the cost of each one, along with the class schedules.

First, I found all of the local massage schools online in San Antonio, Texas, where I went to massage school.

I compared programs, cost, and the length of time to complete the required education. In Texas, it was 300 hours in 2006 when I first wrote this page. Now, in 2010, it is 500 hours. There is a very good school near my home and the price was right so I was very fortunate.

I called and made an appointment to tour the massage therapy school and get more information. I was impressed and gave the school my deposit right then and there and classes started two weeks later. I was on my way to a rewarding new way to help people with a massage therapy career!

It took just six months for me to complete the schooling. Each class was divided into lecture and then clinical, or hands-on training, using each other (students only) as clients and massage therapists. Each class during clinical we would work on a different student so we got to work on a lot of different body types.

For half of the clinical period, half of us would be the massage therapists, wearing hospital scrubs. For the other half, we would be the clients, changing into a hospital gown and using our own sheets on the massage table. The gown and sheets were issued to each student by the school.

For six months, I lived and breathed massage therapy. I read my massage therapy school textbook constantly, staying up late at night, reading and studying as we had exams every week.

When I was not studying, I was practicing being a massage therapist, performing my massage therapy routines on anyone that I could convince to get on my table.

At the beginning of massage therapy school, my instructor had each member of the class write both a vision statement and a mission statement for our individual massage therapy businesses. Then we had to formulate a business plan.

If you still have not created a business plan but you are planning to have your own practice, here is some information about how to a workable business plan for your practice.

At the end of five months, we took our written finals and then began the internship of performing 40 massages on clients of the school. The massage therapy school made the appointments and we had a month to get the 40 massages in. Some days, I performed five massages in a row and other days, just one.

Confidentiality is very important as a massage student and as a massage therapist.

When I finally got my 40 massages in, I got my certification from the school along with a packet of papers that I had to mail in to the state of Texas.

They issued me a temporary license and gave me the date and time of my written and clinical exams in Austin. At that time, I went to the Texas licensing website and learned exactly what the scope of my license would be.

Also at this time, I considered how I would promote my outcall business.

The most important marketing element I could provide at the time was a professional-looking business card.

Another important marketing tool is the massage therapy gift certificate.

As December approaches, many massage therapists have sales on gift certificates to be given as Christmas and Hannukah gifts. Be sure that you carefully read the terms of the gift certificate before you buy it.

And would you believe that I have even more information for you on massage therapy gift certificates?

Once I had read the laws concerning massage therapy in my state and knew what I could and could not do, I was ready to get some information on the different types of insurance coverage I would need for my practice.

After my insurance was in place, I was ready to begin my massage therapy career with my first official paying client. When the first client was ready for a massage, the client had to complete a client intake form and I had to do some pre- and post-massage charting.

In between clients I had to study and practice massage strokes and routines because four months later I took my state exams. I was so glad to get them over with. After a very long two week wait, I found out that I had passed them both and was granted a one year license as a Licensed Massage Therapist in the state of Texas. My massage therapy career was now official!

Massage Therapy School

Tell us about your massage therapy school...the good, the bad, the ugly. Good facilities? Financial aid? Great instructors?

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