How to Find Massage Therapy Career Training

Massage therapy is a growing field; every year more and more people choose massage therapy as a supplement to their health care needs. Massage therapy is also a highly regulated industry, and in order to obtain a license, you must meed your state's requirements for training and testing.

If you are interested in a new career in massage therapy, read more to find accredited schools and training programs.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Find out your state's rules and regulations for massage therapists. In addition to completing a massage therapy training program, you may also need to take a licensing test or CPR and first aid courses.

2. Visit the website of COMTA--Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation. COMTA is an organization that accredits (verifies the quality of) massage therapy schools. If you enroll in a COMTA certified school or program, you can be eligible for federal aid.

3. Next, visit the website of the NCBTMB--National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork. In addition to obtaining a state license, many professional massage therapists elect to obtain national certification through NCBTMB (in some states, it's a requirement too). The website of NCBTMB has a list of approved and accredited massage schools that you can browse by state.

4. Ask a licensed massage therapist where he or she received training. If you have a list of schools in mind, but are undecided, an expert can give you more info on the quality of instruction, and which schools help graduates find work.

5. As you research massage therapy schools, always run a check to see if the school or training program is accredited. See if you can locate working graduates of the program. Also, make sure the program has at least 500 hours of instruction (this is a requirement in most states). If you are unsure, call your state's massage therapy regulation board, or education commissioner.