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Tips From A Professional Masseuse
Dianne Polseno, Director of Education at Cortiva Institute, shares her journey in massage with aspiring massage therapist school students. Read tips on finding good massage therapist schools and locate massage training near you.
Dianne Polseno, Director of Education at Cortiva Institute, shares her journey in massage with aspiring massage therapist school students. Read tips on finding good massage therapist schools and locate massage training near you.
Key Tips for Choosing the Right Massage School
By Jennifer Wegerer
Dianne Polseno
Director of Education, Cortiva Institute
Years in the Industry: 17
The Healing Power of Touch
At a crossroads in her career as a licensed practical nurse (LPN) and addictions counselor, Dianne Polseno made a change. "I loved being a nurse," she says. "But when the hospital where I worked closed in 1989, I realized it was now or never."
As a nurse, Polseno had discovered the healing power of touch. "I found that the most effective treatment I could offer patients was a backrub. It was a non-invasive form of touch; other treatments I gave, like shots, were invasive. A backrub changed a person's entire day. Afterward, they looked different; they acted different."
A New Life and Path at Massage School
Motivated to enter the massage field full-time, Polseno attended massage therapist school and, after graduating, started her own practice. Her specialties include pregnancy massage, regional injury rehabilitation and stress reduction work. Soon after beginning her practice, she decided to teach.
For the past 16 years, Polseno has instructed massage school students in anatomy, physiology, pathology, deep tissue massage techniques and ethics. In 2006, she received the Jerome Perlinski Teacher of the Year Award from the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA).
In addition, she authors a column called "Ethically Speaking" for the Massage Therapy Journal.
Five Tips for Shopping for a Massage School
As the current Director of Education at the Cortiva Institute just outside of Boston, Massachusetts, Polseno advises those considering massage therapy school: "Be a wise shopper."
"Select a massage therapist school that can prove its competency and educational excellence." Polseno urges students trying to choose between the numerous massage therapy schools available to consider five key elements when making their decision.
1. Longevity of the school - How long has the massage school existed? The longer the better.
2. School focus - A school devoted to massage therapy is more likely to ensure educational excellence than a trade school where massage therapy is one item on the menu.
3. Experience level of the teachers - Look for massage therapy schools where the faculty have been teaching for five or more years and have additional hands-on experience.
4. Reputation of the school - Research this question using three methods:5. Percent of graduates that pass the national certification exam - Compare the massage school's passage rate for the national certification exam to the national average. A school with a passage rate above the national average demonstrates educational excellence.
- Get a massage from a graduate and decide whether you like the person's technique.
- Talk to employers who hire the school's graduates. Ask whether they hire - or make a point not to hire - graduates from a particular massage therapist school.
- Talk to graduates. Ask if they would recommend the school they attended or a different massage therapy school.
Job Placement for Massage School Graduates
Another important measure of a massage therapist school is job placement. "Usually, one of the statistics that schools have to be accountable for in order to maintain their accreditation is the success of their students," Polseno says. "One of the ways they do this is through job placement."
The Cortiva Institute, where Polseno works, provides students with access to an online job portal where they can search for jobs, volunteer opportunities or work spaces for rent across the country. Graduates can also post their resumes for prospective employers and request to receive job opening notifications through e-mail.
Additionally, the Cortiva Institute recently hosted a job fair and invited local employers and graduates to attend. The school upholds a firm philosophy of helping its alumni with job placement and career counseling whether they graduated in the last month or the last decade.
The Medical Community Embraces Medical Massage
Since her time as a student, Polseno has observed how the massage industry, along with other holistic modalities, have grown because of the growth of their value and legitimacy. "When I started," she says, "there was no such thing as a full-time massage therapist. Not to mention, they were rarely found anywhere and usually had to practice out of spare rooms in their homes."
Today, however, Polseno finds that the industry is recognized and appreciated by consumers. "It's being accepted, revered, respected and taken seriously." According to a 2006 survey by the AMTA, one out of every six Americans gets a massage each year. Among those surveyed, 40% said that they have had a massage to relieve pain. Read more about the massage industry and today’s massage therapists.
Polseno believes that in the near future people will regard massage as valuable for health maintenance and injury rehabilitation and perceive it less and less as an extravagance or a commodity.
Moreover, she observes that the medical community has come to embrace massage as a legitimate healing method. She has seen massage therapists work in conjunction with medical doctors, physical therapists and chiropractors to aid patients in treatment and rehabilitation.
"What makes massage therapy different from other disciplines that incorporate massage, such as physical therapy or chiropractic treatment, is that massage therapists offer the full experience of a therapeutic relationship and relaxation." And the effects of the massage benefit the giver as much as the receiver.
Improve Your Health – Become a Massage Therapist
In 2000, Polseno participated in a workshop with the Touch Research Institute (TRI) at the University of Miami School of Medicine. There she learned of a study done by TRI in 1998 that proved the "bi-directional" effects of massage. Elderly volunteers were assessed after giving massage to infants for one month versus receiving massage for one month themselves.
The results? The physiological changes in the elderly were greater when they gave massages than when they received them. Polseno says, "I used to want to hang a banner that said 'Improve your health - Become a massage therapist.'"
A respected teacher and practitioner in the field, Polseno has found extensive gratification through her years in the massage industry. "This career has far exceeded my expectations," Polseno says. "I thought I was going to improve the quality of other people's lives. I never would have imagined how much the impact of touch would transform my own life."
Related Reading
- Comprehensive List of Massage Schools
- An Interview with a Massage Student
- Career Tips from Seasoned Massage Therapists
Sources
http://www.cortiva.com/
http://www.amtamassage.org/news/102406.html
http://www6.miami.edu/touch-research/
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