Tag Archive for: career

Are you dreaming of becoming a massage therapist, but feeling a little hesitant about jumping right into a two-year program? We’ve got you covered.

Massage for Beginners is a 2-day hands-on introduction to the world of massage. The workshop gets rave reviews from people want a short, safe, preview of what it’s really like attend massage school and build a massage career. We also get a lot of curious folks who want to learn the basics of massage to work on friends and family members (and to guarantee that they’ll be the most popular person on the group ski trip!).

Spend the weekend learning hands-on massage skills from a real MH Vicars instructor, using our professional equipment!

Why is Massage for Beginners so valuable?

When students first begin hands-on work, everyone is nervous about getting on and off the table and staying draped, touching, and being touched. Linda McGeachy, MH Vicars director of curriculum, says she can see the difference in the first few classes between those who have taken the workshop and those who haven’t: “Module One can be overwhelming, but those who have had the workshop do much better. They have so much more confidence.”

If you are interested in becoming a massage therapist, a beginners’ workshop is the best way to be secure about your decision and to be prepared and confident for the first day of class. And if you come away from the workshop feeling like massage therapy isn’t for you after all, that’s just as valuable. Massage is not the career for everyone. No reputable massage school wants to enroll students who are not going to thrive.

While many schools make their introductory session mandatory, Vicars does not because so many of our students are from out of town or out of province.

But we do strongly encourage prospective students to attend—and even refund the $250 course fee for everyone who goes on to attend our massage program!

From Workshop Student to Workshop Instructor

When Corliss Robertson was considering whether to train at Vicars for her new massage career, she was keen to sign up for the introductory weekend. Although she already thought she was making the right career choice, she wanted to make sure: “I thought if I was going to invest two years of my life in massage training, I might as well make sure it was really right for me, and the workshop seemed like a great way to give it a try.”

Corliss, who graduated in 2015, has built a successful career and eventually returned to the school as an instructor. As well as teaching classes, she now teaches many of the Massage for Beginners workshops at the Calgary campus.

No matter what brings our beginners in, they all find it wonderful—and empowering—to be able to do a simple and effective one-hour massage by the end of the two-day workshop. It’s an intense two days, Corliss says, but stress-free. Participants are free to explore the work without any stress or academic expectations.

“There is no judgement. It’s a relaxed environment in which to test the work,” she says.

Each workshop opens with a presentation on how to keep both therapist and massage subjects safe. They learn how to set up the equipment, what makes a good massage table, and how to keep a treatment space clean. Students learn to check with their clients for contraindications to massage. And they learn to keep themselves safe through practicing good body mechanics as they work. Careful draping techniques are taught and practiced, so that both parties feel comfortable.

The group works in pairs as the instructor demonstrates each of the techniques that together form the skill set of a basic relaxation massage, including effleurage, petrissage, and tapotement. They learn the overall principles of massage, the rules that make these techniques safe and effective.

But for everyone, the best part of the weekend is the last afternoon, when the instructor leads the class as they take turns giving and receiving a whole-body massage, timing the different steps so that each pair works at the same pace, and everyone completes the treatment in one hour. At the end of the workshop, each student takes home their learning materials so they can continue to learn and practice their new skills on friends and family once they get home.

The reviews are in!

Here’s a sampling of the feedback we’ve received from past workshop participants:

“It was so cool.”

“The course is very well set up.”

“I can’t believe all that I was able to learn in such a short time.”

“There was just enough structure, but it was never rigid.”

“We really got a better understanding about what it means to be a massage therapist.”

“Having Stan [one of the school’s anatomy skeletons] was helpful. He helped show what the bony landmarks looked like.”

And this one, which we suspect was written by a reluctant pal who signed up to support their friend: “I came into this not expecting to like it and I loved it.” 

Click here to learn more about Massage for Beginners and sign up for a future workshop. The fee is $250 per person, or $350 for both if you bring a friend.

massage therapy career FAQs

Vicars School of Massage therapy was founded in 2001, which means we’ve been talking about massage for over 20 years. On the phone, in person, over Zoom, at Christmas parties, and in line at the farmer’s market…we never get tired of chatting about this incredible career or about what it takes to become a successful registered massage therapist (RMT).

Over the years, we’ve been asked—and have answered—pretty much every conceivable question about massage therapy, and massage therapy education. And are some questions that we hear over and over again.

We’ve collected a few of the most popular questions that our students have at the beginning of their career change journey and answered them here for you.

What does a massage therapist do?

Okay, I admit it: this isn’t actually one of the most frequently-asked questions that future students ask our admissions advisors. I think that’s because by the time someone gets to an open house, or is talking to one of us on the phone, they’re either too afraid to ask or they think they already know the answer. But here’s the thing: we talk about it anyway, and they’re all still fascinated and sometimes even surprised by the answer.

That’s because massage therapy is a more exciting—and challenging—career than most people realize. If you’ve only experienced massage treatments as a client, you may have no idea of the depth of knowledge and technical skill that goes into treating your pain.

As a massage therapist, you will be a frontline health care professional and play an important role in maintaining and improving your clients’ well-being. You will have the training to reduce their stress, decrease their pain, and treat or alleviate the symptoms of a wide range of injuries and physical conditions.

Every treatment that you do will be unique to your client and their needs. You’re not simply performing a pre-set sequence of strokes and techniques—which means no day at work is ever the same. At each appointment, you will begin by talking to your client and doing an assessment. This will allow you to create a treatment plan. The massage itself will be customized for your client. That’s why we teach you so much anatomy, physiology, and pathology along with hands-on skills.

How long does it take to become a massage therapist?

Massage therapy training in Canada takes about two years to complete. Different schools have slightly different schedules, but if you want to become a professional massage therapist you should be prepared to be in school for between 20 and 24 months.

At Vicars, our diploma program is divided into year one and year two material. Each “year” is actually 10 months of full-time learning. Students who start with us in the fall follow the traditional school year (September–June) each year, with a two-month break over the summer. This is particularly popular for parents, because it lines up with the K-12 school year. The spring classes run from March until December, and take their break over the winter holidays—even more appealing for many students than having the summer off!

That said, the time in between school years isn’t only for building sandcastles (or snow forts). While it’s a break from the full-time workload, you will have some work to do during this time to keep your mind and body in practice, and prepare for the year ahead. Many students also use this time to get a jump-start on some of their second-year practicum clinic shifts.

What kind of training do I need to be a registered massage therapist in Canada?

In order to be a professional massage therapist in Canada, you need to get an education that is recognized by the regulatory body or registering organization in the province you want to practice in. Which leads us to a related question with a much more complicated answer:

How do I choose a massage therapy school?

In order to be a successful massage therapist who is able to make a real difference for your clients’ health, you need to choose your massage therapy college very carefully.

That’s especially true in non-regulated jurisdictions like Alberta (and Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and the Territories), because there are multiple registering organizations and no central regulatory body. Alberta’s massage therapy professional associations each have different entrance standards—some higher than others. Some of the professional associations are even run by individual massage schools, which raises big questions about the objectivity of their membership standards!

That’s why national accreditation exists. The Canadian Massage Therapy Council for Accreditation (CMTCA) is a national, independent organization that evaluates massage therapy colleges to make sure that they’re providing the best possible education and educational experience. They assess schools based on the curriculum and delivery standards set by the Federation of Massage Therapy Regulatory Authorities of Canada (FOMTRAC).

In regulated provinces like BC, Ontario, and Newfoundland and Labrador, all massage schools must be accredited (i.e., they have to meet the FOMTRAC standards). This protects massage clients and massage students.

Unfortunately, Alberta isn’t there yet. Meeting the FOMTRAC standards is optional. As a result, the type and quality of massage education available in Alberta programs is uneven. But things are starting to change—CMTCA recently opened up its accreditation process to Alberta massage colleges.

Vicars has is fully accredited by the CMTCA, proving we’re one of Alberta’s best massage therapy schools.

 

If this blog post answered your questions about starting a career in massage therapy, you should give us a call. And if this blog post answered some of your questions about becoming an RMT but left you craving even more information, then you should definitely give us a call! Contact our friendly admissions team by calling us toll-free at 1-866-491-0574, or sign up for a virtual open house!

happy new year 2022 from MH Vicars School of Massage Therapy

Here’s to a brand new year full of health and happiness!

We considered opening this year-end message by acknowledging that 2021 has been another complicated and stressful year for our students and staff. But then we thought—focusing on the negative is hardly in the holiday spirit, is it?

And it’s a bit passé, anyway. Reminiscing about the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic and saying “good riddance” to the old year is sooo 2020.

So instead of listing the challenges that we’ve all faced in 2021, I’m going to use my final blog post of the year to celebrate the things that brought us joy in the last 12 months.

MH Vicars School Celebrates 20 Years by Earning CMTCA Accreditation

At the beginning of the year, we thought that the biggest news of 2021 was going to be our 20th Anniversary celebrations. We were looking forward to the opportunity to reminisce about the past and catch up with 20 years’ worth of successful massage therapists. After all, two decades (and counting) of providing exceptional massage therapy education to adult learners in Western Canada is worth making a fuss about!

But—alas—the pandemic marched on and bumped “party planning” off the top of our to-do list. And instead of spending the year thinking about the past, we got to do something even better: dream about the future.

Because the biggest news of 2021 is that we earned preliminary accreditation status from the Canadian Massage Therapy Council for Accreditation.

This is a huge accomplishment, and many years in the making. It’s a big deal for us as a school, and for our current and future students. It’s also a new high water mark for massage therapy education in this province; MH Vicars School is one of only two private massage therapy colleges in Alberta to have made it onto this prestigious list.

To learn more about accreditation and what it means, read this blog post from July!

Public Clinic Returns!

We had to adapt our program in a lot of big and little ways to keep our community as safe as possible during the pandemic, especially before life-saving vaccines became widely available. These changes were essential, but we really missed the way things used to be. The hardest change to get used to was the temporary closure of our public clinics.

We continued to offer hands-on practical experience for our students, and our faculty and supervisors did an incredible job of turning the student-only practicum shifts into dynamic learning opportunities.

But we missed the real thing: the excitement of running a massage therapy clinic and the satisfaction of treating our clients’ pain and stress.

So we were beyond thrilled to reopen our doors to the public this fall, with appropriate health precautions in place for both clients and therapists.

You can click here to book a massage from one of our talented student therapists.

New and Improved Online Booking for Clinic Clients

Were you wondering why you heard shouts of joy and relief coming from the vicinity of our Calgary and Edmonton campuses in mid-November? We can answer in one word: Jane.

That’s the name of the online booking and scheduling software that we began using for or student clinics this fall. It has already made life easier for our clients, students, and staff.

We’re getting great feedback on the new system, especially from some our long-time regular clients who have been with us through all the ups and downs of our previous booking systems.

Haven’t used Jane to book an appointment yet? You can watch a quick video tutorial here.

New Weekly Class Schedule Provides Flexibility for January Students

Our goal has always been to make massage therapy education accessible to as many people as possible. One of the ways we do that is through our innovative blended-learning program delivery with the choice of either weekly or monthly schedule options. Another is to offer both September and January start dates.

But until this year, January students didn’t have as much choice as students who began in September. The weekly schedule wasn’t available for them.

Starting in January 2020, though, we now offer weekly and monthly classes in both September and January. (Of course, the options may still vary between campuses, based on student interest).

More variety means more flexibility, and for some people can even make the difference between starting their dream career and putting school on hold for another year.

We’re looking forward to greeting a new crew of both weekly and monthly students in a few weeks!

This year wasn’t easy, but you made it great!

Thank you to all of our students, clients, and incredible faculty and staff for all that you did in 2021. The compassion, patience, hard work, and positivity that we’ve seen around us this year has been incredibly inspiring. It’s a joy to be a part of your lives.

 

From all of us at MH Vicars School,

Happy New Year.

massage therapy as a career

Why Being a Registered Massage Therapist Might be your Dream Job

Massage therapists provide an invaluable service to people who are in pain, recovering from injuries, or experiencing stress. Massage therapy speeds up the healing process, improves circulation, lowers blood pressure, and can help restore emotional balance.

For most massage professionals, that’s the main reason we chose this job: we care about other people. We want to help our clients get better and stay well. We’re attracted to the health care and wellness field, but we want to make more of a one-on-one connection with our clients than would be possible as an EMT or a nurse (not to mention being able to avoid the high stress, long hours, and potential burnout so common in those jobs). Massage therapy is one of the most accessible, adaptable, and personally satisfying careers in health care.

Massage therapy could be a satisfying career for you if you are empathetic, active, and ready to learn. Over our 20 years training RMTs, we hear a lot of stories about why students choose massage, and still find it rewarding five, 10 or 18 years later.

Massage therapy may be the right career for you, if:

A flexible schedule suits the way you live

With the start of covid, Canadians traded full-time, in-office jobs for work from home and setting their own hours. Post-vaccine, many of us are still doing that, or wish we could. It’s great to be able to do an errand midweek, or volunteer for the Grade Four field trip.

Massage is that flexible: block out time to accommodate your other responsibilities and make up the time by opening your calendar earlier or later a couple of days a week.

Night owls can work more evenings, and larks can start early. If you can work evenings or early mornings or weekends, you will be doing your 9-5 clients a great service, and it will give you a competitive edge.

You have had enough of office work

Some people thrive at a desk and find making sense of a balance sheet or facilitating a zoom conference suits them perfectly. If you have tried that, and it is not for you, think about a career that lets you stand up and be active while you work. As we’ve written about before, sitting is dangerous work!

You like learning about health and how bodies work

Massage is a good choice for you if you have a background in sports, yoga Pilates, or another health care field. Much of the massage school curriculum is about the human body and how it works. You will graduate with a thorough knowledge of the anatomy, physiology, and pathology of the systems most affected by massage therapy.

You don’t have be an expert on human anatomy before you start our program, though! We have designed our program to be accessible to students from all backgrounds. If you meet the basic academic entrance requirements, the only other things you need are a passion for the subject matter and a willingness to work hard. This is thanks to the quality of our curriculum material, and the way we teach it.

Often, our best students are people who were nervous about going back to school because they weren’t star students in high school, or because it’s been a while since they were last in a classroom.

Our program is built specifically to meet the needs of adult learners, and our blended-learning program can accommodate the different ways that students learn. Learning the science, theory, and other academic material when it’s combined with hands-on learning and you can apply the knowledge in a practical way.

“I’m not much of a classroom person – I find it hard to sit and listen to a lecture,”, says Karen Goforth, a 2017 Vicars grad. “So that it was only four classroom days a month worked really well for me. It was hands-on and I got to learn a lot of information in a short amount of time, and then take it home and digest it myself and reread. That setup worked really well for the way that I like to learn.”

You want be fully qualified and ready to practice in less than two years

Massage therapy is one of the most accessible of the health care careers.

In regulated provinces, massage schools are required to teach anatomy and physiology, pathology, orthopedic assessment, treatment planning, medical terminology, and other subjects to a specified standard. Their hands-on education includes many hours of supervised work experience. When they meet their first clients as RMTs, they have the knowledge and experience they need to be fully effective.

In unregulated provinces, providing this level of preparation for national “entry-to-practice” standards is optional. It is expensive for schools to meet the standards, but good schools know it is what our graduates need for success.

MH Vicars School was an early adopter of the national standard and one of the first schools in Alberta to have achieved accreditation from CMTCA, the same authority that accredits schools in the regulated provinces: BC, Ontario, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and PEI. 

You want job security and a living wage

As standards for the profession have risen across Canada, the profile of the well-trained professional has risen with it. Good massage therapists are in higher demand than ever. Research evidence of the value of massage piles up, and it has become increasingly common for other health professionals to view RMTs as part of their patients’ health care team. Doctors regularly recommend massage for rehabilitation following surgery or injury, to promote flexibility and increase range of motion for older adults and people with disabilities, and to provide relief to those with chronic pain.

And with this growth in respect from other professions and the public, job security for RMTs is better than ever. Most years, between 95-98% of our grads are fully employed (or working as much as they want to) by the end of their first year in the profession. Even with covid precautions in place, our grads report that they’re booked for weeks or even months in advance. Especially in smaller centres, many are no longer accepting new clients.

Talent.com reports an average salary of $67,500 for massage therapists across Canada (higher in regulated provinces). Your income will rise as you build a reputation for effectiveness, and generally be higher if you are self-employed.

You can be your own boss

Massage therapists can work anywhere that they want to. You can find MH Vicars graduates in dedicated massage clinics, in clinics or health centres alongside physiotherapists and chiropractors, at gyms, at corporate or industrial work sites, at resorts and hotels, and even in their own homes.

Most Vicars graduates work for themselves. They rent a room in a larger clinic or a gym, have clinic space in their own homes, or start and operate clinics that employ other massage therapists or other practitioners.

 

The Massage Therapy Program at Vicars could be the pathway to your ideal career. We have campuses in Calgary and Edmonton and a schedule that is designed to work with your lifestyle. For more information and to speak with our friendly admissions team, call us toll-free 1-866-491-0574 or sign up for an online open house!

 

Preliminary Accreditation Granted Seal of the CMTCA

Preliminary Accreditation Granted Seal of the CMTCA

Note: This post was published in 2021. Vicars School is now a fully accredited program. For more information about CMTCA Accreditation and what it will mean for your massage career, check out this post from summer 2023 or this page on our website!

Vicars School of Massage Therapy is proud to announce that we have been granted Preliminary Accreditation status from the Canadian Massage Therapy Council for Accreditation. 

This status is an important milestone for our school, our students, and the massage therapy profession in Alberta.  

“I’m so proud of our faculty and staff,” says Maryhelen Vicars, the school’s founder and president. “We have been working towards this goal for several years, and the high score we achieved at this stage is a welcome confirmation of the quality of our program.”  

What is CMTCA accreditation? What is preliminary accreditation?  

The Canadian Massage Therapy Council for Accreditation (CMTCA) is an independent agency that evaluates massage programs across the country to determine whether they meet rigorous curriculum and delivery standards. 

The CMTCA evaluation rates a school’s performance in seven important categories: curriculum content; faculty and learning; student support; leadership and administration; human resources; resources and infrastructure; and quality improvement. Each category is broken down further into multiple criteria—95 in total.  

Schools start by applying for preliminary accreditation. This is a rigorous process that involves gathering documentation and evidence for all the criteria. The school’s written submission is then independently reviewed by three trained CMTCA surveyors.  

Now that we have preliminary accreditation status, the next step is full accreditation, which involves a scheduled site visit from CMTCA surveyors. We are one of only two private massage therapy colleges in Alberta to have earned preliminary accreditation status. The massage therapy program at Lethbridge College, a publicly funded college, is the only massage program in Alberta with full accreditation. 

Preparing the application was a team effort led by Executive Director Sarah Ward-Bakken and Curriculum Coordinator Linda McGeachy. The whole team spent many hundreds of hours on the project, reviewing each standard and gathering detailed evidence of how our program meets the criteria. 

“Applying for accreditation gave us the opportunity to examine each aspect of the program in great depth and detail,” says Linda. “Receiving preliminary accreditation has made me more confident than ever that the school is offering comprehensive, well-rounded training that is second-to-none in Canada. 

“Accreditation is about making sure that best practices in massage therapy education are upheld, and that schools continue to invest in quality improvement,” Sarah added. “It ensures that graduates are knowledgeable, competent, safe, and ethical.” 

Why does CMTCA accreditation matter?

Program accreditation through the CMTCA is a way for massage therapy programs to demonstrate that they meet Canada’s national program standards. In provinces where massage therapy is a regulated health care profession, standards are mandatory and so accreditation is essential.  

Massage therapy is not regulated in Alberta and there’s no universal education standard. But in our eyes, that makes independent approval processes like CMTCA accreditation and the MTAA school approval program list more important, not less. 

“We have never been about meeting minimum requirements,” says Maryhelen. “It’s unfortunate for the profession, and for Alberta massage students, that this kind of consistent, evidence-based education isn’t already mandatory for Alberta massage schools. But I’m proud to be able to offer it for our students. 

“From the very beginning, our school has been committed to meeting the highest standards of massage therapy education,” she says. “Back in 2012 when the regulated provinces first agreed on a standard for what all students should learn before they are ready to practice, we rolled up our sleeves and got to work. In many areas, we were already compliant. Where the expectations were higher, we spent the time and money needed to make sure we met them. 

“We had the same attitude when the CMTCA started accepting applications from Alberta schools. We jumped at the chance to prove ourselves.” 

The more schools that choose to get accredited, the higher the quality of massage education in Alberta will be overall. This will improve outcomes for clients and help strengthen the reputation of massage as a valuable health care profession.  

What does this mean for current and future Vicars students?

The most important thing for current and future Vicars students to take away from today’s news is that their massage education meets the highest national standards, and that they can be confident that they are on their way to becoming skilled, effective, and successful health care professionals. The day-to-day experience of being a Vicars student hasn’t changed. This new status from the CMTCA is simply recognition from independent experts that what we’re doing works.  

There will be practical benefits, too, of course: many clients and employers already show preferences for therapists from specific schools, and this will set our graduates apart even more.  

We expect that the accreditation process will have the greatest impact on our students who plan to work in regulated provinces after they graduate. The details will depend on when we are able to schedule our site visit for full accreditation, and on the policies of the regulatory college in question. Overall, we expect that our current status, and eventual full accreditation status, will open many doors for our students in other jurisdictions.

5 qualities of good rmt

Looking for a Career Where You Can Help Others and Stay Active? Massage Therapy May Be the Right Fit for You!

What is a Registered Massage Therapist?

A Registered Massage Therapist (RMT) is a licensed healthcare professional who is trained to safely manipulate their clients’ muscles, fascia, and other soft tissues in order to achieve specific therapeutic benefits.

While many other health care workers and esthetics professionals will incorporate a few massage techniques into their work, RMTs have a specialized education that sets them apart. A massage therapist has different skills than a physiotherapist, osteopath, chiropractor, kinesiologist, or occupational therapist—though they often work closely with all of them.

Many people get regular massages as part of their ongoing preventative health care routines, while others will only book an appointment with their RMT when they’re in pain or feeling especially stressed. But no matter how often they go, they’ll feel the benefits for both mental and physical well-being.

Massage therapy can be an extremely effective part of the treatment plan for a wide variety of conditions, including:

  • Arthritis
  • Carpal tunnel syndrome
  • Depression and generalized anxiety
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Frozen shoulder
  • Headaches
  • Piriformis syndrome
  • Plantar fasciitis
  • Sciatica
  • Scoliosis
  • Stress
  • Tendinitis
  • Thoracic outlet syndrome
  • TMJD

Massage therapists get to work one-on-one with their clients, often working with them over the course of several weeks or months to achieve long-term results. It’s a front-line health care profession, but without a lot of the stress, anxiety, and shift work that paramedics, health care aides, or nurses have to put up with (and RMTs hardly ever sit at a desk!). That combination of job satisfaction, happy clients, hands-on work, and flexibility mean that a career in massage therapy is very appealing to active, caring, self-motivated people. You may be reading this because that sounds like you!

Even after a busy day, I leave work so happy because I know that I’m helping so many people. – Emma Johannesson, 2017 graduate

Before you invest your time, money, and energy into an education, though, let’s dig a little deeper into what it takes to really thrive in this profession. At Vicars, we provide you with the training and practical experience to assess and treat your clients, and the business know-how to navigate that side of your career. But there are some things that we can’t teach in class. The RMTs who are most successful and most happy on the job all have a few things in common.

Top 5 Qualities of an Excellent Massage Therapist

  1. Empathy
    Empathy takes the number-one spot for good reason: massage therapists are drawn to the career out of a desire to help people. Your clients will come to your table stressed, tight, or in pain. You’ll perform an assessment to learn about their needs, and develop a custom treatment plan. Then after an hour of your care they’ll be happier and healthier. What could be better for an empathetic person who has a passion for making connections, working with others, and making the world a happier place?
    Your empathy will be your motivation to work hard every day, and it will also be an asset for you as a therapist. Understanding and sharing in your clients’ feelings helps to establish a bond of trust, which will in turn allow your clients to be vulnerable in communicating their needs. It is important to note, however, that while empathy is a very valuable trait it must be balanced by careful monitoring of boundaries. A big part of your massage therapy education will be learning professional ethics, including how to recognize the limits of your professional scope of practice, and how to enforce healthy boundaries.

I love that a healing touch can do so much for someone. Seeing the way you affect someone’s life is the most rewarding feeling you will ever have. – Kirsty MacIntosh, 2012 graduate

  1. Excellent Communication and Active Listening Skills
    As an RMT you’ll be communicating directly with your clients in pre-treatment consultation, throughout the course of your massage therapy sessions and in post-treatment follow-ups. The ability to communicate in an open, clear and informative manner is essential. How well you communicate—with your words, your body language, and your actions—will help set the tone for each treatment, and for the whole therapeutic relationship with your client.
    It’s not just about what you say to your client: it’s also about how you listen to what they’re sharing with you. “Active listening” means making a focused and conscious effort to not only hear the words being spoken, but to fully understand the message being communicated. It is your job, as the massage therapist, to make them feel comfortable and safe, to try to understand and address their needs, and to provide a therapeutic, relaxing experience.
    Some of the communication tools that a massage therapist (or any health care professional) needs to master are very specific, and go beyond what is required to succeed in other professions. It will be an important part of the curriculum at any reputable massage therapy school. At Vicars, we dedicate a lot of time to it, and incorporate it into every other subject area as well. That said, the best massage therapy students and RMTs are people who are already committed to active two-way communication.
  2. Good Time Management Skills
    Whether you’re self-employed or you work at a clinic, time management is critical. You will need to ensure each client’s needs are met while still having enough time to take care of business, including cleaning and setting up the room for the next client and taking a much-needed breather between treatments.
    Good time management is also important for students. This is especially true for adult learners, who often have to balance their schoolwork with their job and family responsibilities. It can take a month or two for even the most organized Vicars students to get the hang of their new blended learning routine. But this can actually be another side benefit to choosing a blended learning program; the time management tools that our students develop during their time at Vicars are exactly the same as those required of a successful therapist and entrepreneur.
  3. Curiosity
    To be a massage therapist is to be a perpetual student—in a good way!
    Every massage is a new opportunity to learn about your client and their needs, and turn that knowledge into a customized treatment plan. Nobody’s body is exactly the same, and how we experience pain and other physical symptoms can be subjective and has both emotional and physiological components. Having a genuine curiosity about how these elements impact your client’s condition will help you to design the best treatment for them.
    Throughout your career, you’ll be a student in a more literal sense. Massage therapists are required to keep their skills and knowledge up to date with continuing education courses. What courses you take will be up to you, and what you’re curious about.
    You can refresh your anatomy and physiology knowledge, get extra training in how to treating special populations, such as competitive athletes. This kind of additional training throughout your career will keep you up to date with the industry so you can provide the best care possible.
  4. Energy, Stamina, and A Commitment to Self-Care
    Massage therapy is a physically demanding hands-on practice. RMTs don’t just use their fingers and hands: in order to perform those effective deep-tissue techniques without burning out or injuring themselves, RMTs have to engage their entire body, including the legs and core. The average workload for a full-time RMT is five 60-minute massages a day, five days a week. Being on your feet for hours every day and using every muscle in your body to assist others with their aches and pains requires strength and stamina. Your body is your career. You have to listen to it and take care of it—and we’ll teach you how.At MH Vicars, you will learn the correct body mechanics so that you’ll be able to have a long and healthy career. Through our student clinics and in-class practice, you’ll be able to gain the endurance and flexibility you need to be an effective RMT. You’ll learn self-care techniques and stretches and strengthening exercises as a student, and it’s important to incorporate them into your daily routine.
    But it is also important to take proactive measures to care for your body. Keeping yourself in good “massage shape” means regular exercise, a balanced diet, and plenty of rest. And if you’re a bit sore at the end of a long week at work, may we suggest getting a massage?

What Skills Do You Learn While Training to Become a Massage Therapist?

The MH Vicars School curriculum is based on Canada’s highest national massage education standards and will prepare you for a successful massage career anywhere in the country. In addition to relaxation and therapeutic massage sequences and techniques, you’ll study anatomy and physiology, body mechanics, communication skills, massage theory, ethics, and business. You’ll learn how to perform an assessment on a client and then create a customized treatment plan to effectively treat a wide range of complicated medical concerns.

At Vicars, students complete their massage therapy training in less than two years. Our full-time blended learning program is a combination of in-class education and directed independent study. Students also complete an extensive supervised practicum at our on-campus clinic, where they get experience treating real clients from all walks of life in a supportive educational environment. Our graduates are able to gain employment immediately after graduating (depending on the province they live in). Some students even start working part-time as student therapists during their second year.

Combined with your unique personality, you’ll have all the tools you need to build a rewarding and successful career as a respected Registered Massage Therapist.

The Massage Therapy Program at Vicars could be the pathway to your ideal career. We have campuses in Calgary and Edmonton and a schedule that is designed to work with your lifestyle. For more information and to speak with our friendly admissions team, call us toll-free 1-866-491-0574 or book an interactive virtual tour today!

6 tips how to choose a massage school

Ready to Begin Your New Career?
This Essential Info Will Help You Get Started

Massage therapy is a thriving, in-demand career, ideal for people from all walks of life who put “helping others” at the top of their career bucket list. It’s also a career very well suited to those who are curious about physiology and how the human body works. If you’ve ever thought about a career in massage therapy, your next step will be choosing the right massage therapy school or program for you. 

To help you on your journey, here are a few tips to help you research your options. 

1.     Make sure it’s a licensed school

Your success as a massage therapist depends, in large part, on the quality of your massage therapy education. In order to provide the best health care to your clients, and to navigate the business side the career, you need to attend a school that has a strong curriculum, qualified instructors, and offers a practicum that is fully supervised and integrated into the curriculum.  

It’s essential that you attend a school that’s properly licensed by the government. The only schools that are licensed by the Province of Alberta to provide Massage Therapy Certification (as part of a two-year program) are listed with Alberta Innovation and Advanced Education. Only students who attend a full-time, licensed program are eligible to apply for provincial and federal student loans and grants. 

But in Alberta, where massage is not a regulated profession, government licensing is the bare minimum to look for in a school. Unfortunately, making sure that a school is licensed isn’t enough to make sure that you’re going to get a good education, or have an enjoyable student experience. That’s because the Alberta government doesn’t monitor the contents or quality of a school’s curriculum, which has led to a lot of variation among massage programs in Alberta. 

There is no single standard for course content, subject matter, academic standards, facilities, or faculty qualifications that all schools need to follow. There are few advertising standards, and little to protect prospective students from high-pressure or misleading sales tactics. 

2.     Find out what the professionals have to say

So where else can you look to find out if a school is going to prepare you for a long, successful career? We recommend looking through the Massage Therapist Association of Alberta’s Approved Programs list. To make it onto the list, schools and programs must comply with Canada’s massage education entry-to-practice standard  and meet demanding criteria for program delivery methods and instructor qualifications. This list is also a useful tool to hold schools accountable for what they teach, ensuring that all students get the best quality education possible. (Full disclosure: we were the first private school added to the list) 

From there, you can start to look at the details of each program to decide whether it’s right for you. 

It’s also a great idea to chat with your own massage therapist. Where did they go to school? Would they recommend it? What do they know about other programs based on their conversations with colleagues, or their experiences as employers? 

3.     Learn your local massage therapy standards

In order to work in a province where massage is not government regulated, you need to become a member of one of the professional associations that operate in that province. In Alberta, those associations include the Massage Therapists Association of Alberta and the National Health Practitioners of Canada.  (It’s a great idea to reach out to an association in your province as you research your education options! But be careful—some associations are owned by or linked to particular schools. So make sure you’re getting an independent opinion). 

If you want to work in BC, Ontario, or another province where massage therapy is a regulated profession, you will have to go through a few more steps to become registered after you graduate.  

All of those provinces require you to pass an entry-to-practice exam to become a member of their Regulatory College. Though the application processes vary, all of Canada’s massage therapy Regulatory Colleges use the same entry-to-practice standard. So if you want to go to school in a non-regulated province and plan on working in a regulated province someday (or just want to keep your options open for the future) then make sure that your school of choice has a curriculum that lives up to that standard. 

4.     Learn about eligibility requirements and application deadlines

In terms of official qualifications and prerequisites, application standards vary from school to school. There will be reasonable academic prerequisites. At a minimum, schools will require a high school diploma, GED, or a combination of high school credits and an aptitude test. These are the minimum technical requirements for acceptance into a licenced program in Alberta, but at most schools, students are accepted based on a one-on-one interview. At Vicars, we’re looking for students who have the drive for an intensive two-year program that covers everything from anatomy to ethics to business skills. The most successful students want to spend you’re their careers helping people, and are you curious, energetic, organized, and self-motivated. 

Keep an eye on the start dates for your preferred program. Plan ahead and apply early so that you’ll have the best chance of getting a place in the program and your first choice of schedule. This is more important at some schools than others, depending on a lot of factors, such as program size, class size and maximum student-instructor ratio, and number of start dates per year. 

At MH Vicars School, we often have to put applicants on a waitlist for our most popular schedules. We keep our class sizes  small (a maximum of 22 students per class, and two teachers per class) so that we can make sure our students get a high standard of hands-on instruction and plenty of one-on-one attention. We have two start dates per year: September and January, though students can start our Anatomy and Physiology and Pathology classes online as soon as they are registered.  

Some massage therapy schools do things differently, and there will be advantages and disadvantages that go along with that. For example, a school might have the option of new classes starting every month. This is appealing for people who don’t want to have to wait to start their new careers. But those classes might only run if enough people sign up, causing your education to be delayed and deferred anyway. Or a school might have small class sizes for its practical instruction, but larger classes for everything else. It’s up to you to consider your priorities, research the program, and decide what combination of features is the best fit for you. 

The best massage therapy programs in Alberta have high standards for their students because they have high standards for the profession of massage therapy.  

5.     Find the schedule and learning style that suits you

At the end of the day, choosing a school isn’t about finding the “perfect” massage therapy program. It’s about finding the perfect massage therapy program for you. Even the best schools in Alberta have differences among them and are designed to meet the needs of different students. 

There are some colleges that offer a variety of programs, with massage therapy one of many. Other schools, like us here at Vicars, are dedicated solely to training professional massage therapists. At a larger institution, especially one that offers multiple programs, you’re more likely to get the “traditional” post-secondary student experience. For some people that’s one of the draws. Others are attracted to the personalized experience and close relationships that come with a smaller, massage-specific program. 

Monday-Friday programs are a better choice for students who are right out of high school and are used to a more directed and less flexible learning style. A blended learning program is ideal for mature learners who want more control over their education and schedule, and people who don’t live in a big city but still want a quality education. 

Pay attention to the recruiting style of schools that interest you. Are the admissions staff on commission? Do they use call centres? The impression that you get from the admissions staff is often a reflection of the school itself and what your student experience will be like. They should be as interested in learning about your goals and needs as they are about telling you about the program.  

6.     Register for a tour and try a workshop

Now that you’ve narrowed down your choices, it’s time to see if your dream schools live up to your expectations! 

If the school offers an in-person or virtual tour or open house, that’s a great sign. You want to be able to experience the college and meet staff, faculty, and students as a part of your research. (Many schools have turned to virtual tours due to the pandemic, and these can also be a valuable experience.) 

Take advantage of any opportunities you have. Ask questions about the coursework, meet the staff, see the students in action, and even  experience a treatment for yourself at student clinics. 

Some massage schools offer one- or two-day beginners’ workshops so that you can get a short hands-on experience and learn some very basic techniques. They can be a good way for a prospective student to get a feel for their space and teaching style. 

Set yourself up for success 

By choosing the right massage therapy education, you’ll set yourself up for success by making sure that you have the skills, knowledge, and experience that clients want and need. Graduates from the best schools are fully qualified to forge arewarding career as a professional massage therapist.  

If you think Vicars might be the right school for you, contact us today to learn all about life as an MH Vicars student and future massage therapist. 

Create a Balanced, Healthy Lifestyle as an RMT

Work-life balance is high on the list of career must-haves for almost everyone. Looking to break free of the 9-5 and the culture of being constantly connected to the office by text, phone, or email? A career as a Registered Massage Therapist (RMT) can help you achieve this dream. 

As a massage therapist, you’ll never be tied to a desk again. Working directly with your clients to help them heal, you’ll have the satisfaction of being a health care professional—without the shift work and high stress. According to job website Monster.com, being a massage therapist is among the top 7 most relaxing jobs. And most MH Vicars School graduates are entrepreneurs, which means they set their own hours and design their own workspaces. 

That doesn’t mean that being a massage therapist is easy, of course! Massage therapists use both their muscles and their minds to help their clients heal. You will need to be fully engaged and present for each treatment. And being your own boss isn’t a walk in the park; you’ll be responsible for managing the business side of your practice. 

But for massage therapists, those challenges pale in comparison to the benefits of this fulfilling and flexible career. You will have the knowledge and skills to change their clients’ lives—and you’ll get to live the life you want, too. 

Can I have a satisfying career and still have time for myself and my family? 

As educators, we know that one of the reasons that our students choose MH Vicars School is because our blended-learning schedules allow them to balance their education with their other responsibilities. And as RMTs, we know that one of the attractions of a career in massage therapy is the ability to achieve a healthy work-life balance. 

What that balance looks like is different for everyone and will change over time as your needs change. That’s why it’s so important to choose a career that lets you be in control of your professional life and that can grow and evolve alongside you. 

Most of our students want their career to be flexible enough to fit around their demanding family life. For some of them, that means being able to work around their kids’ school and activity schedule.  

What Kind of Schedule Does an RMT Work? 

RMTs can work whatever hours and schedules they and their clients prefer. 

Massage therapists see their clients by appointment, so you can set your availability to whatever works best for you and your family. This can make it easier to manage family or other non-work activities, and you won’t need to ask anyone’s permission to take a holiday. 

As an RMT, you can work evenings and weekends if you need to be around for your toddler during the day, or to make sure that your last massage of the day is done in time to drive your teens to hockey practice.  By planning ahead, you can work part-time or casual hours when your schedule demands it. 

It’s not just parents who dream of having control over their own schedule. Vicars students range in age from their early 20s to the late 50s. For some of our younger students, becoming a massage therapist is an opportunity to work and travel. A lot of our older students are excited to become RMTs in order to set their own full-time hours now, and also to have the option to switch to part-time later on. 

Can I make a living as an RMT? 

Healthcare is one of the fastest-growing industries in Canada. Canadians are increasingly relying on massage therapy, and doctors are referring patients to RMTs for treatment more than ever before. Also, many health plans now also cover massage therapy services, making it easier than ever for clients to receive massage to supplement their mainstream medical care.  This widespread popularity means that registered massage therapy is an in-demand career. In fact, many Vicars grads are so busy that they have a steady client base booking months in advance, plus a constantly filled waiting list. 

A well-trained massage therapist can earn a very comfortable income, but exactly how much money you make will depend on your type of practice, where you are, and how much you work. 

Massage therapists can work in a wide variety of settings, including: 

  • Dedicated massage therapy clinics 
  • Home-based massage clinics 
  • Chiropractic clinics 
  • Acupuncture clinics 
  • Physiotherapy clinics 
  • Rehabilitation centres 
  • Spas and hotels 
  • Fitness centres 

Most registered massage therapists charge between $80-$110 for a 60-minute massage. Of course, that’s not all income. If you’re running your own clinic, you will have to cover rent, supplies, laundry, marketing, and other expenses. If you work as a contractor in someone else’s clinic, you will either have a fee-splitting agreement (60% to the therapist is a common arrangement) or pay the clinic a fixed monthly fee. In exchange, some of your business expenses and tasks will be covered by the clinic. 

A sustainable full-time workload for a well-trained massage therapist is between 20 and 25 massages per week. In addition to that hands-on time with your clients, your responsibilities will include charting, doing laundry, booking and confirming clients, marketing, and other administrative tasks. If you work as a contractor or as an employee, the clinic might handle some or all those duties for you (except your treatment paperwork, of course). 

Some RMTs work as employees in clinics or spas and earn an hourly wage. They’ll usually work assigned shifts, and they get paid the same amount no matter how many clients they see. They are also paid for the time that they put into their non-massage duties. Compared to working as a contractor or running your own clinic, the hours and income are more predictable and there’s usually less responsibility. For some people, that’s exactly what they need to achieve the work-life balance that they’re looking for. 

There are disadvantages to working for an hourly wage, however. Therapists working for an hourly wage typically make less overall than other therapists. They don’t get to set their own hours, and also have less control over how many massages they perform in a day. So if your version of work-life balance involves flexibility and setting your own pace, you’re better off working for yourself. Fortunately, the Vicars curriculum involves business training and hands-on experience at our fully functional public clinic. You’ll be prepared to launch your own career as soon as you graduate. 

A healthy and relaxing work environment 

Massage is an inherently relaxing experience, even if you’re the one giving the massage treatment. All around you, calming music is playing, gentle scents are wafting through the air and everyone is speaking softly. The best part is that even if that client comes in flustered and stressed, they will be completely relaxed by the end of the treatment. 

After your client leaves, you’ll clean the treatment room, replace the linens, and get set for your next treatment. Experienced RMTs make sure that they allow enough time between appointments not only to get the space ready for the next client, but to perform essential self-care rituals: having some water and a snack, stretching, and doing breathing exercises or even some light meditation to refocus your energies. 

There are a lot of things to love about a career in massage. And the best of them is that your clients are actually happy to see you. Even if they arrive stressed out or in pain, they’ll be looking forward to your treatment, and completely relaxed by the end of it. 

Being a massage therapist is hard work and has its frustrations and annoyances like every other job. We can’t promise that you’ll never be tired at the end of the day, or never get tired of folding laundry!  

But you’ll also finish every workday knowing that you have made a difference, and that you are valued for your knowledge and your skills. And that’s the key to real work-life balance: having a career that brings you as much joy and satisfaction as the other parts of your life do. 

Find Your Work-Life Balance as a Massage Therapist and Start Living the Life You’ve Imagined 

Massage therapy training at MH Vicars can open doors to the rest of your life, starting with our unique blended learning format. Set your own schedule for your online learning, spend four days a month on campus with us and then choose the days and hours you’d like to practice as a full-fledged RMT.  

For more information about our exciting program, call our friendly admissions team toll-free at 1-866-491-0574 today or attend an online open house! 

 

massage therapy has grown in 2021

How COVID-19 has changed things for RMTs and massage therapy schools

When COVID-19 arrived in Canada, none of us knew how it would affect our lives. And as massage therapists, we were also worried about our livelihoods. What would happen to a hands-on profession like massage therapy during a global pandemic? 

Over a year later, the answer is clear: massage therapy isn’t going anywhere. On the contrary, the stress and hardship of the last year has reminded RMTs and our clients just how necessary massage is in our lives. 

“There certainly have been a number of challenges in the past year in my own practice, and the massage industry as a whole throughout the pandemic. But overall, what I’m seeing is that massage is alive and well,” says MH Vicars instructor Lourdes Nunes-Sammer. Lourdes is both an RMT and a business owner. She treats clients in Edmonton and owns a clinic in Jasper that has multiple massage therapists.

Lourdes says that she’s been pleasantly surprised by how resilient her businesses have been during the pandemic. 

“In my own practice I’m as busy as ever, and the clinic in Jasper has been very busy.” 

It hasn’t been an easy year for RMTs, of course. Massage therapy was one of the many professions that had to temporarily close during Alberta’s first shutdown in spring 2020, and again for a few weeks during the second wave lockdown in December 2020. 

But each time it’s had to shut down, massage therapy has bounced right back. Rather than reducing demand, these shutdowns—and the overall stress and strain of the pandemic—have made many of our clients appreciate us more than ever. 

Our clients also trust that we’re taking the necessary steps to keep them safe, including following strict cleaning protocols, doing client screening, and wearing masks and other PPE. Some of the changes we’ve had to make have been expensive and time-consuming, but we know it’s worth it to be able to do what we love. 

“I have some clients where I am literally the only person that they see, outside of the members of their household. People who are seriously isolating,” says Lourdes. “That someone lets me be in that circle of trust and treat them—that’s a huge privilege.” 

Massage therapy is an effective treatment for a wide range of injuries and physiological conditions, and Lourdes says that her clients are still coming to her to get help with issues like TMJD, scoliosis, and other conditions. But she’s also noticed a huge increase in the number of clients who are specifically looking for stress relief. 

“I think that more than ever now, people are seeing the therapeutic benefits of a relaxation-type massage,” she explains. “They’re coming in asking for a full-body relaxation massage, whereas before I would have been treating their specific condition. 

“The pandemic is bringing to light the need for connection that we might have overlooked before, and the need for massage therapists and that therapeutic touch. They’re more stressed than they’ve ever been. Our resiliency, our overall mental and physical and psychological and spiritual health is low.” 

How has COVID-19 affected massage therapy schools? 

The pandemic has been hard on massage therapy students, too. But MH Vicars School students have had a significant advantage over some of their peers. The Vicars program has always been delivered through blended learning: a combination of hands-on learning in class, and independent study work that’s completed online and at home. This type of schedule is perfect for adult learners, rural students, and others who can’t attend an old-fashioned Monday-Friday program. 

And though we certainly didn’t anticipate this advantage when the school opened 20 years ago, blended learning has proven to be a great way to learn during a pandemic. We have made additional changes to the program to support our students during the pandemic, but without sacrificing the curriculum standards or overall student experience. 

The 2020-2021 school year was able to proceed with as few disruptions as possible. The biggest difference for our students was that our practicum clinics have been closed to the public for most of the year. This was a difficult decision, but a necessary one. Reducing the number of people that our students come into close contact with on campus has helped keep them and their families safe. It also meant that we were less likely to have to interrupt on-campus classes for our students. Our students have been working on each other at the clinic. They get a dynamic and interactive hands-on practicum experience without increasing their risk of being exposed to the virus. 

The pandemic isn’t going to disappear overnight, but next year’s students can look forward to a much more normal school experience. Thanks to vaccines and public health precautions, we look forward to reopening all our clinics to the public for the next school year. 

Massage therapy students can also breathe easy knowing that they are preparing to enter a career with a bright future. 

“I think the resounding lesson of this pandemic is that massage therapists have job security,” reflects Lourdes. “We’ve seen a lot of challenges in the industry this year—being open one day and closed the next—and keeping up with all the guidelines for how we can practice and what we need to do. But people are still coming. Because they recognize the value of it. I think there’s always going to be that demand.” 

At MH Vicars School of Massage Therapy, you can train to become a registered massage therapist for a flexible, rewarding career in this growing field. MH Vicars students learn the theory and skills to perform effective relaxation and therapeutic treatments.  

Call our friendly admissions team at 1-866-491-0574 or RSVP for the next live online open house to learn more about becoming a qualified massage therapist.

massage therapy classes at MH Vicars

A Career in Massage Therapy Can Provide Many Ideal Job Options

Have you ever said to yourself “one day, I’ll have more time for myself?” If you’re a shift worker or you’ve been stuck in the 9-5 rat race for too many years, it may be time to consider all the benefits of a career in massage therapy. Whether you dream of owning your own business or want to work flexible hours in a clinic, being a massage therapist can take you there. Go to massage therapy school, and you can build the career and the life that you’ve always wanted.

With Massage Therapy Education at Vicars, Your New Lifestyle Can Start Right Away

The right massage therapy training will not only prepare you for a flexible career – it will allow you to balance your work, life, and education while you’re a student. At Vicars School, you’ll be in control of your own schedule as soon as you register to be a student at either our Edmonton or Calgary campuses. Our full-time program is delivered through an accessible blended learning format. This means you don’t need to give up all your other responsibilities while you train with us.

You will have four full in-class days per month (you can choose the schedule that will work best for you). When you’re on campus, you’ll work closely with your instructors and classmates as you learn hands-on skills in the lab and hone all the skills you’ll need to become a successful RMT. Then you’ll spend an average of 30 hours per week on your independent-study work from the comfort of your own hoome. You’ll still be connected to your classmates and our expert instructors, but you’ll have complete control of your schedule.massage therapy classes at MH Vicars

You can even get a head start on your education, to give yourself extra time during the school year. As soon as you register for classes, you can start work on our core science courses online.

Massage Therapy School Provides a Variety of Career Opportunities

Our therapists choose Vicars because they want a career where they can truly help others, while working in an environment that suits their needs. Many of our graduates work in dedicated massage therapy clinics, either by themselves or with a team of other RMTs. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg: you will find our graduates in a variety of settings across Canada and the world. Here are some massage therapy settings you might not have considered:

Home-based business

Say goodbye to rush hour traffic – your new commute to work could be walking down your hallway! When you consider the advantages of a home-based massage therapy business, it’s no surprise that so many Vicars graduates choose to set up a clinic in their own home.

When you have a clinic in your home, you have complete control over your schedule and your space and reduce your overhead costs. Your clients will appreciate the calm atmosphere, privacy, and convenience. And because you can offer appointments outside of standard office hours, you can attract clients who work shifts or have 9-5 jobs and struggle to find a massage clinic open when they need it.

Of course, this option doesn’t work for everyone, or for every home. In order to have a successful clinic from your home, you need to have a dedicated treatment space and appropriate bathroom and laundry facilities.

A mobile massage clinic

The only thing better than a massage, is a massage that comes to you! If you want to be able to treat a wide variety of clients in diverse settings, being a mobile massage therapist could be the answer. As a mobile RMT, you pack up your massage table or massage chair and treat your clients where they are. The options are endless: you could set up a clinic room at an extended care facility once a week, visit your clients in their homes, or be hired by a business to give chair massages to their employees. And because it’s so flexible, you can offer mobile massage therapy services and still have a regular clinic space for your clients to visit.

Physiotherapy clinics

Physiotherapy and massage therapy are both incredibly effective pain management and recovery practices. The two therapies have a lot in common. Both massage therapists and physiotherapists have an in-depth knowledge of the body and its systems, and use specialized hands-on techniques to treat their clients. But there are also some big differences between physio and massage, and they aren’t interchangeable. The two professions have different training, and use different techniques – which is why they complement each other so well when combined in the same clinic! By partnering up with a physiotherapist in a shared clinic or wellness centre, you will be able to provide your clients with comprehensive care to help them prevent and treat injuries, and maintain peak physical and mental health.

Chiropractic clinics

Chiropractors and RMTs frequently work side-by-side assisting clients with recovery from physical strain and injuries resulting from auto accidents, postural dysfunction, and more. A chiropractor performs the physical adjustments, and the massage therapist works on the soft tissues that have been working overtime to compensate for any misalignment.

Multi-disciplinary wellness clinics

Chiros and physios aren’t the only professions that sync up well with massage therapy. One way that many massage therapists find success is by working out of a multi-disciplinary clinic that offers a wide variety of therapeutic services. Practitioners that partner well with massage therapy include doctors, acupuncturists, naturopaths, midwives and doulas, osteopaths, and more.

Your clients will appreciate the opportunity to have so many of their health need met under one roof. And for you and your colleagues, having shared practices means that you’ll have a constant source of referrals, plenty of professional support, and the ability to share the space and equipment costs.

Long-term care homes and extended care facilities

A lifetime of wear and tear takes a toll on the human body. So it’s no surprise massage therapy is in high demand with older adults. Geriatric massage is an adaptation of relaxation and therapeutic massage techniques to meet the specialized needs of elderly clients. It lowers stress, improves sleep, reduces the symptoms of arthritis and chronic pain, improves circulation, and more. Massage has even been shown to help people with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Not all of your elderly clients will be able to visit you at your own clinic. But you can go to them. Many long-term care homes and seniors residences will have an in-house massage therapist, or have a mobile massage therapist visit regularly.

Hospice facilities

Hospice care isn’t always at the top of mind for potential RMTs. However, when you consider the long list of positive effects of a professional-quality massage, it makes perfect sense. In a hospice, the goal is to provide comfort and serenity as the patient transitions into end-of-life stages: providing a gentle soothing massage to complement any pain medications, keep the muscles relaxed and help to reduce physical and mental suffering.

Rehabilitation Centres

Massage therapy has been gaining attention for the role it could potentially play in assisting with detox and addiction programs. Remarkably effective in calming the mind and relieving tension, massage stimulates the skin, which results in the body’s central nervous system sending out dopamine (the happiness hormone). This dopamine release can help with stress and anxiety for a patient who has been admitted to a rehabilitation centre, provide an increase in self-awareness and allow the person who is working on kicking their addiction a peaceful time where they can passively receive positive stimulation.

Massage therapy training at Vicars can open so many doors, no matter where and when you’d like to practice. For more information about, call our friendly admissions team toll-free at 1-866-491-0574 or book a campus tour today!