Massage Therapy

Shorter is Better: Advantages to Shorter Massage Therapy School
By James Mally

Many debates have occurred on whether theoretical or practical massage therapy education is better. My preference is to get a good foundation but then go out and obtain some practical experience. You will learn much quicker about what works and what doesn't but also have enough theory and training to understand and properly execute the fundamentals.

Regulations by States, Counties, and Cities vary as to the amount of training required before being licensed. Our area, Sacramento County California, happens to require 125 hours at the present time and Healing Arts Institute offers a qualifying program to match that. There are other schools that offer 500 hour and even 1000 hour programs. At first glance it may appear that a longer program would be better, but there are several reasons why that may not be so.

One advantage to a shorter training is cost. Initial training is around $1375 for registration, tuition, and books on a 130 hour program. 500 hour programs typically start at $8000 or more. It is a large investment of time and money for entering a field that you may not be sure about pursuing. In a 126 hour training, the basics of massage are taught along with how to help people without causing harm. The real training happens when you begin work on paying clients. This is true whether your initial training is 126 hours or 1000 hours. There are some things that can only be learned in actual practice in the real world.