Ok, here's the backstory When I graduated high school I started Massage Therapy school. Was going good for about 5-6 months when I up and moved to a different state, and I quit massage therapy school. Regret. Is all I am feeling some 2 1/2 years later. I should've stayed with it. Now, I am enrolled at a college to go for Education, and don't get me wrong, I'm sure I would love it, but a big part of me is still pulling for the Massage therapy. It fits a big part of my personality in that being I love helping others and I love the zen, peaceful, stress relieving part of giving (and receiving) a good massage. Problem is, the nearest massage therapy school is almost 2 hours away, and there another one 2 hours in the other direction. I have no way to move to either of these places and I would have to figure out how to do this on my own. I would likely be happy with either, but massage therapy just fits me. It's my dream job. What should I do?
A lot depends on what you learned and what level of competence you gained in the 6 months you went to school. I'm a nationally certified massage therapist and taught bodywork at a college for about 10 years. The course I taught was a 3 credit course so it had about 60 hours of classroom and lab combined, not enough for certification in mst states. But it turns out that ABMP (Association of Bodywork and Massage Professionals) has an internship/apprentice program where you can show a combination of classroom instruction and practice and become eligible for their certification that way. The NCBTMB, the largest (and only) national certification body for massage therapists also has some sorts of options to gain national certification without formalized school (you'd have to check their c3ert requirements and read up on the options.) One other option I'd suggest is looking at the School of Shiatsu and Massage at Harbin Hot Springs. They have week-long intensives that are 50 contact hours each, so you could probably mix-and-match a couple of their intensives with the hours and classes you've already taken and earn your minimum hours for certification that way. BTW, their teachers are among the best you'll find anywhere -- it's a world-class facility in terms of the quality of their bodywork, and it is the place where Watsu, now used worldwide, was developed. One other piece worth knowing: Not many states have licensure for massage therapists. So, provided you develop the skills, either through the training you already have, or through Harbin or something else, you may be able to practice simply on the basis of the skills you already have, and use the hours you get from workign with clients toward your ABMP or NCTMB certification. BTW, i'd say stick with the education while you're at it, and work on the massage in addition... that way you give yourself options. Hope that helps!
