School For Massage Therapy: A Look At The Areas It Covers

Helping others is a desire that many of us have. But when we make a career decision, this desire is sometimes lost or neglected. Most of the time, a career choice is made because of how much it can potentially pay or how secure a job is in the long run. Rarely is it a factor to get into a certain career because of the desire to meet and help others.

But one career is universal when it comes to the satisfaction of meeting and helping people, the massage therapist. Aside for the passion in helping and serving people, many massage therapists are glad in their career choice because of the flexibility. They can be self-employed or work for spas, rehab centers, and hospitals. Once they're independent, they can setup their own shop or do house calls. Some even provide benefits at work places. It all depends on the rules setup by local regulations that govern the practice.

How to become a massage therapist?

Local authorities such as cities, counties, and municipalities are the ones who govern the industry of massage therapy. In most states, a formal training and a national certification are necessary.

The formal massage therapy training is usually 500 hours of instructions from a school approved by the NCBTMB (National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork). The NCMTMB also provides the two standardized national certification exams, the NCETM (National Certification Examination for Therapeutic Massage) and the NCETMB (National Certification Examination for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork). The necessary certification to take depends on the local regulators.

It's really not confusing, just simply call the place where you intend to practice and they'll tell you the requirements.

What to look for in a massage therapy college?

One of the requirements to become a massage therapist is a formal training. That's just another way of saying "go to school". When looking for a massage therapy college, might as well take into consideration what the national exam covers, since you'll be taking it later on.

The two standardized national massage therapy exams cover the following areas:

- General knowledge of body systems
- Detailed knowledge of anatomy, physiology and kinesiology
- Pathology
- Therapeutic assessment
- Therapeutic application
- Professional standards, ethics, business and legal practices

Furthermore, the NCBTMB requires a minimum of 500 hours with the following breakdown:

- 125 hours of body systems (anatomy, physiology and kinesiology)
- 200 hours of massage and bodywork assessment, theory and application
- 40 hours of pathology
- 10 hours of business and ethics (minimum of 6 hours in ethics)
- 125 hours of additional instruction in an area or related field that theoretically completes the massage program of study

Obviously the two lists are the same because they're made by the same group. So in selecting the massage therapy college to attend, you must first understand the local requirements of the area you intend to practice. Most likely, it's the above.

Hence, the school you select should prepare you for the massage therapy exam and meet the minimum requirements of the NCBTMB.

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