Massage Therapist
Massage Therapist
What do I need to do to become a massage therapist?
I’m a senior in high school, and I need to start getting college stuff done. I’d like to go into massage therapy/sports medicine; but what I really need to know is how to become a massage therapist, what are the requirements before you can go to massage school, how much, etc.? Thank you!
At this time most states require licensure in order to practice massage. Each state’s requirements may be different. A general rule of thumb is that you will need to go to a state approved massage school. The program will need to be a minimum of 500 hours. Once you complete the program you will need to take the National Certification for therapeutic massage and body work exam.
Massage Therapist
Can a female massage therapist choose not to work on male clients?
Can a female massage therapist work exclusively with female clients? I am starting my own business and I feel the most comfortable working with female clients instead of males. I want to advertise massage services for female clients only. Is this sex discrimination? Or is it not, considering it is my own business?
Well it is your business and no, its not sex discrimination, but it is a very difficult question. The short answer is that there probably is a market for women who are seeking a female therapist, so most likely, your advertisements would be successful, and I have known female therapists who have been in some difficult situations with male clients and found it difficult to work. I would however consult the standards for the massage profession. My understanding is that, it is generally presume that you, as a therapist, are a professional, your clients are only undraped when you are working on that particular body part, and that private areas are draped at all times. You need to be mindful, given that the massage therapy profession goes to great lengths to promote themselves as medical professionals, refusing to work with males may send a bad message out about massage therapy and this could cause some friction between you and your peers/coworkers.
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