Why Choose Accelerated Massage Therapy Programs?

If you’re looking into massage therapy programs and would like to get your massage therapy license as soon as possible, then enrolling in an accelerated massage therapy program might be your best option.  The length of massage therapy programs in the US varies from about 6 months to about 2 years.  Some of the difference in program length is due to a wide variety of program hours, varying from 500 to 1000, but the main difference is that of full-time vs. part-time engagement.  

Is an accelerated massage therapy program right for you? 

The answer to this depends on a number of factors related to one’s availability, schedule, preferred learning environment, and social factors.  If a student wants to complete study in a short period of time and is able to commit to that, then an accelerated program is a great option, particularly if the school is not located close to one’s home.   Part-time programs are designed for students living close to a school and allow students to maintain their usual job and lifestyle.  An accelerated program is more immersive and often requires students to take time away from their usual routines.  The immersiveness of the experience offers fewer distractions than in a part-time program.

Besides time, what are some other advantages of an accelerated massage therapy program?

In a part-time program, a student’s classmates might just be classmates, whereas an in an accelerated program, there is often a greater deal of bonding that occurs between students due to the immersiveness of the experience.  

Another advantage of an accelerated program is that it allows for the greater possibility of including guest instructors from all over the country that wouldn’t be able to visit if classes were spread out over a longer period of time.  In our massage program, it’s the accelerated format that allows us to invite high quality instructors from all over the country.  

Is it possible to be too accelerated? 

No matter how motivated a student is, there’s only so much one can learn in one week.  As humans we need a certain amount of sleep and integration time to integrate new material.  In some states, an applicant for a massage license is required to attend a program that is not less than 6 months because it’s simply not feasible to learn effectively in a shorter timeframe.  This is more true for massage therapy than other topics because massage involves psychological components that are absent or less relevant in other fields.  

Is there homework in an accelerated program? 

Some accelerated programs assign homework on a daily basis, but it’s our belief that it’s not an effective learning strategy to assign homework in an accelerated program because evenings are needed for rest and integration.  When researching accelerated programs, one should ask how much homework is assigned.  In our program, we assign only 1 or 2 massage sessions on non-students each week, and only an occasional assignment to study ONE muscle or pathology for a class exercise several days later.  We believe anything more than that reduces the quality of the educational experience.

Is the quality of an accelerated program the same as a part-time program? 

In theory, X number of hours should be the same no matter the length of the program.   As mentioned above, there’s the greater possibility of higher quality guest instructors in an accelerated program, so as long as students are getting enough time to rest and integrate, enough quality time and not just quantity time in the classroom, and enough clinic hours, then an accelerated program should be the same or better.  Quality time may often have to do with the depth and quality of the relationships with classmates, which again is likely to be greater in an accelerated program.  

Our massage therapy program has been an accelerated one since the early 1990s, so we have a great deal of experience fine tuning how to offer quality education in a short period of time, and we might be the only school that offers an accelerated program that meets the specific licensing requirements in 48 states.

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