Arcata School of Massage

Arcata School of Massage

We are proud to welcome Shari Sunshine, LMT, as Co-Director and new Massage Technique instructor. Shari was first Certified as a Massage Practitioner in 1978, and has since been Certified in Ortho-Bionomy®, Polarity Therapy®, Rubenfeld Synergy®, Thai Massage, Hypnosis, Healing Chi Kung and more. Shari also had the great fortune to study as an apprentice to Shlomo Efrat, senior student and assistant to Moshe Feldenkrais in Jerusalem, Israel, as well as numerous traditional healers in India, Nepal, and China. Shari founded the Jerusalem Center for the Healing Arts, co-founded the Ashland Massage Institute and Syntropy International, and served as the principal massage instructor at the Maui School of Therapeutic Massage for ten years. In the classroom, she combines boundless enthusiasm for teaching and learning with over thirty years of hands-on experience.

Our 600-hour program is complete career training in the art and science of massage and bodywork. We include an on-the-job clinic internship, small class sizes, alternative educational methods, and professional therapists as your teachers. We graduate confident, intuitive therapists who love what they do!

Arcata School of Massage (ASM) is located 275 miles North of San Francisco in beautiful Humboldt County, California. Our 600-hour Somatic Bodywork and Massage Therapy Certification Program includes preparation for the National Certification Exam and the MBLEx. Training is offered in the following areas:

• Swedish Massage
• Deep Clinical Approaches
• Shiatsu
• Somatic Bodywork and Therapeutic Treatments
• Hot Stone & Hydrotherapy
• Business training
• Reflexology, Aromatherapy, Energy Work
• And more

The educational philosophy of the Arcata School of Massage is to provide students with the training and qualifications they need for successful careers as professional massage therapists. Our approach is balanced between the clinical and intuitive aspects of massage and bodywork. All courses are based on a foundation of self-care for the prevention of the repetitive stress injuries that unprepared therapists encounter. Our alternative teaching methods include:

• Hands-on sciences
• The Multiple Intelligences approach to instruction
• Digital audio/visual presentations
• Group activities
• Student research projects
• Clinical internship
• One-on-one student advising and mentorship

What is Somatic Bodywork?

When intuition and understanding merge and a professional massage therapist can find all the right places to touch, that's Somatic Bodywork. When a therapist has the ability to creatively blend a variety of techniques into a seamless treatment that's just what a person needs, that's Somatic Bodywork. When a therapist stays healthy, inspired and keeps learning from every client, that's Somatic Bodywork.

A Somatic Bodywork Therapist works with the natural healing abilities of the body. Whether it's working with the Chinese meridians, using neuromuscular repatterning, or giving people the bliss of a hot stone massage, a Somatic Bodywork Therapist has developed the ability to both intuitively and scientifically understand the needs of the body and how to best facilitate therapeutic change.

The entire program at ASM is built on a foundation of Somatic Bodywork. While the subjects vary from class to class, the common threads are the same throughout:

• Sacred touch
• Intelligent touch
• Whole person healing

What makes ASM unique is that we approach education from a somatic perspective: each class and each teacher fits together to form a whole, not a bunch of separate pieces.

Our Standards

"Compressed programs lasting just a few months are not sufficient to provide a solid foundation...between 750 and 1000 hours are required in order to develop the educational competencies needed to be a professional therapist."
- from the August/September 2007 "Eye on Education" issue of Massage & Bodywork Magazine

The standard requirements for massage education have increased over the last decade. Most states that regulate massage therapy either require or accept the National Certification Exam and a minimum of 500-hours of training. In order to provide our students with the best possible education and career opportunities, we do not offer the short 100-150 hour intensives that are common right now in California.

Graduates are eligible for licensure/certification in many states. We will help you navigate the requirements in your area and assist you with obtaining your license, when possible. The program is approved by the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education and the Department of Consumer Affairs. We are a School Member of Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals, and an Assigned School for the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork. Our graduates are licensed in Utah, Washington, Oregon, Hawaii, North Carolina, and more.

Our mission is to produce confident, sensitive massage therapists who are employable in spas, by doctors, chiropractors, physical and occupational therapists and prepared for self-employment as specialists in one or more branches of massage and bodywork.

The Internship

"It is crucial for students to get experience practicing in a student clinic--preferably doing at least 50 or 60 treatments over several months."
- Massage & Bodywork Magazine

Real-world, hands-on practice with real clients is essential for the development of self-confidence, professional skills, strength and creativity, while working with a wide variety of body types and clinical applications. After your basic massage training is complete, your 65-hour clinic internship accompanies all of your advanced classes.

Scholarships and Loans

Every student admitted to ASM is eligible for our Work-Trade Scholarship, which provides up to $1000 in tuition rebates and immediately lowers payments. Work-trade students happily continue their internship in the student clinic for up to one month after graduation. Our 0% APR Tuition Assistance Loan is available to qualified applicants, allowing students to pay tuition in low monthly installments.

Admissions

"Do schools have established procedures for screening out inappropriate candidates? Or do they simply strive to bring in as many students as possible?... In the end, low entrance standards hurt students, schools, and the field as a whole."
- Massage & Bodywork Magazine

Morning and evening course schedules are designed to accommodate students who need to work and/or care for children while in school. Each cycle of classes fills completely, and enrollment is selective. We recommend that you call to speak with an admissions advisor in addition to requesting a catalog from this site. An automated email response containing our contact information will be sent to you after you Request Information.