Southwest Institute of Healing Arts

About Us

The touch of someone's hand, the closeness of an embrace, and the connected feeling of personal contact signify caring and comforting. Feelings of security, safety and easiness are amplified along with other good feelings evoked by the power of touch according to the research done by the Touch Research Institute in Miami, Florida. Studies have proven that regular, positive, structured touch can improve one's immune system. In fact, there have been many studies documenting the fact that a premature baby will not survive without touch.

At Southwest Institute of Healing Arts in Flagstaff, Arizona we believe that touch is central to everyone's health and well being. For that reason we are dedicated to being one of the central businesses in Flagstaff that offer professional, affordable massage therapy to the public through our clinic staffed by students and graduate therapists.

Massage Therapy

Our 750-hour professional massage therapy program has been designed to be a careful balance of modalities to prepare students to become successful practicing bodyworkers in as little as eleven months by attending classes with four days or four nights per week, Monday through Thursday, plus completing your clinical hours afternoons during the week or on Fridays or Saturdays. The program exceeds standards set by national certification, and by most state and municipal governments for licensing. Our professional massage therapy program teaches the art and science of massage therapy, while also teaching sound business practices which prepare students for success in the marketplace.

Due to the fact that you are actually training to be a health care practitioner, we include CPR and First Aid training and certification. Anatomy, physiology and pathology are also in our professional massage therapy program curriculum. As part of the curriculum you will complete a comprehensive professional development portfolio which helps to prepare you for self-employment or for getting your first great job as a licensed massage therapist.

Massage therapists work with doctors, nurses, physical therapists, psychologists, chiropractors, naturopaths, acupuncturists, sport teams, and in wellness programs at corporate sites. In addition to private practice, they are employed at hospitals, athletic clubs, family health centers, cruise ships, vacation resorts, spas and salons. You decide what your dream is. Our job is to prepare you to 'do your dream.'

The Flagstaff campus

Our main campus is in Tempe, Arizona. Our branch campus is in Flagstaff, Arizona and features a 750-hour professional massage therapy program, a variety of continuing education classes, as well as a very busy student and professional clinic.

Our students come from all over the country and the world, from all walks of life to experience SWIHA. We have a rainbow of students from ages 18 to 80 years old. Each student is on their sacred path of self discovery all for different reasons. When you step into our doors you feel a sense of belonging. There is a kindred soul feeling. The program offered at the Flagstaff campus is designed to prepare students to begin entry-level positions in their chosen field while they are completing the requirements for the more advanced holistic health careers or self-employment.

Student Centered Learning

At SWIHA, we celebrate the differences in our learners. As there are different dreams, there are different dreamers. SWIHA has come to recognize that individuals have different learning styles - visual, kinesthetic and auditory. Different learning modalities assist students in mastering the materials. For example, the fundamentals of anatomy are brought to life with use of music, guided imagery, rhythm, dramatization, games and song. Utilizing the latest research in whole brain learning, we combine anatomical information with non-linear modalities of learning. We offer more actual classroom and hands-on training than any school in the valley.

Expert Instructors

All instructors at SWIHA are practicing therapists or Holistic Health Care Practitioners. The commitment to our students is that they will always have an instructor that is an expert in the subject in which they teach. Consequently, we have over 100 subcontracting teachers that may only teach a few hours a quarter, but they teach their particular subject with a passion. The goal is to expose students to the most knowledgeable instructors in the valley or the world for that matter (we regularly host international teachers). In addition, we have a variety of currently working experts in the field providing role models for students and a wider network of contacts.

At SWIHA our instructors are reminded to "teach only love, for that is all there really is" and to question "Of what good is it for a student to master the analytical material of (for example) Anatomy if their soul is battered along the way?" Learn to touch lives, heal bodies and free souls.

Accreditation

Southwest Institute of Healing Arts is a State Licensed private college for Holistic Health Care Careers and is accredited by ACCSCT.

If you are interested in any of our programs and would like to find out more, please Request Information.