High School Students Informational Guide to Careers in Massage

I have been getting so many requests from high school students regarding class requirements and massage school entry requirements that I decided to set up a whole section just for high school students.

The only requirement most massage school have is that you have a high school diploma. That being said the average age for a massage therapist currently is 45 years of age as reported by the Associated Massage and Bodywork Professionals on their website -www.massagetherapy.com

The reason for this higher average age is that most people usually come to the massage profession after trying a few different professions and not finding what they want. A career in massage is more appealing because most think that it will bring more meaning to their work and lives. While this may be true there is also another side to that which involves the real reasons why people like to help is usually more about them than the person they are trying to help. I talk about this in my ebook and other places on this site.

As a massage therapist you will be dealing with issues around touch that can often bring up very emotional things for people like memories of abuse (physical and or sexual), issues around vulnerability because of the fact that people have to take their clothes off for a massage and be touched by a stranger. The biggest issue is that because the client comes to a massage therapist usually to help relieve some pain, disease or stress it sets up a power differential between the client and the massage therapist. This power differential often leads to the massage client transferring their emotional needs onto the massage therapist. This requires that the massage therapists be secure in their boundaries and clear about who they are so they can remain the massage therapist and not take on the role of the caretaker. Jack Blackburn of presencingsource.com speaks of caretaking like this:

Caretaking can be seen as a shadow side of our profession, a hidden addiction to control,parenting or fixing that is hard to acknowledge and difficult to correct. Caretaking is a majorreason that bodyworkers burn out from physical and emotional depletion. A caretakingrelationship produces less personal growth for the therapist and client. Sustained caretakingproduces an emotional charge (e.g. parent/child co-dependency) that becomes a hindrance togiving care. The relationship roles of client-as-victim and practitioner-as-rescuer become thefocus of the therapy rather than the goals of change and maturation.

Being a massage therapist requires that one be mature enough to look at themselves and learn to be aware of when one is in the caretaking role and how to deal with it. That being said there are many 45 year old massage therapists who don't have a clue about this issue either as it is not really talked about in massage school or even much in the profession.

The other thing is that even if you get a job in massage or start your own massage business, you will need to have excellent customer service skills, marketing skills and business skills. As an employee you will be faced with creating your ideal massage job and learning to deal with massage employers who in general are not always looking out for the massage therapist. The number of stories of massage therapists being taken advantage of in the massage profession seems to outnumber the good job stories although I am sure they are there and just not talked about as much.

On the other hand as a young massage therapist, you may have the opportunity to begin to change these dynamics and learn about your role as a helper at an early age.

So if as a high school student you still want to pursue a career in massage, some classes which might be helpful but are not required are biology and science classes as well as business and marketing classes. The only requirement most massage schools have is to have a high school diploma. You will need to check with each massage school to get the details of what is required.
You can find additional information in my ebook "The Massage Therapy Career Guide: The truth about becoming a massage therapist"

See also the FAQ's section and the interview for high school students section.

You can also share your ideas, comments and responses about becoming a massage therapist right out of high school by filling out the form below which will create a new page on this website.

Filling out this form creates a new page on my website. Please share your information or experience or knowledge on this topic with others.

I will read all submissions and approve appropriate content. If accepted, I will add a link to your site or contact information so include it in the form.
Thanks!
Julie Onofrio
www.massagetherapycareers.com