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ASHA's
New Graduate Massage Program
Interview
by Kathryn Sargent
Aah, massage... that wonderful feeling when all your muscles relax into
bliss and you wonder if you'll just float off the table...
It's hard to imagine how a massage therapist could do any more for
you than that, but soon they'll have the means. The Academy of Somatic
Healing Arts will offer the first graduate program for massage therapists
in the Southeast starting in July, 2004 with an 800-hour, ten month
course. ASHA is accredited by the Integrative Massage & Somatic
Therapies Accreditation Council (IMSTAC), approved to teach massage
in the State of Georgia, USA, by the Nonpublic Postsecondary Education
Commission (NPEC), and approved by the National Certification Board
for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB) as a continuing education
provider for massage therapists.
I recently spoke with Stan Dawson, DC, the owner and director of ASHA
about the new graduate program.
KS: Stan, who is eligible to apply for this program? And what
sort of practitioner would this program appeal to?
SD: Kathryn, any massage therapist who graduated from a massage
school with at least 500 hours is eligible. This program will appeal
to those who want to broaden and deepen their healing work, those who
want to integrate Eastern and Western styles of bodywork, and those
who are interested in the relationship between massage and psycho-therapy.
KS: What kind of time commitment do students make to this
program?
SD: Classes will meet four hours per day Monday through Thursday.
Clinic will average five massages per week. This schedule leaves time
for making a living elsewhere.
KS: Describe the curriculum for our readers, please.
SD: The 800 hour curriculum includes 600 hours of class and 200
hours of clinic. The course integrates Eastern and Western styles
of massage, bodywork and psychotherapy, massage and nutrition, with
a strong emphasis on Eastern techniques like acupressure from Traditional
Chinese Medicine, Thai Massage, abhyanga from Ayurvedic Medicine and
Polarity Therapy. The graduate students will make at least $8000 doing
200 massages in the clinic.
KS: You've mentioned the blending of Eastern and Western
techniques in the program. Could you explain how combining the two can
strengthen one's practice?
SD: The Chinese meridian system and the Indian chakra system
represent two slightly different versions of the energy system that
connects mind and body. Blocks in the energy system can sometimes be
the key to a certain case. If you don't know to check for these
types of imbalances and how to deal with them, you will be less helpful
for some people. In addition, these two natural healing systems are
thousands of years old and contain rich knowledge and insights that
Western science is only recently able to validate. New insights in physics
and biology support these ancient Eastern systems, the study of which
can be very valuable personally and professionally.
KS: What other features make this graduate program
worthwhile for someone who already has a good practice?
SD: This program will take those who are already successful to
the next level. It will take those who haven't converted their massage
training into a successful career to a level of confidence and skill
that enables them to learn to be successful therapists. The features
of the program that make this more likely are: (1) the clinic
requirement – sufficient hands on experience refines skills and
builds confidence (2) the integration of Eastern and Western
techniques after 900 hours of technique study in two years (3)
the correlation of bodywork and psychotherapy taught by body-centered
psychotherapists (4) the nutrition course (5) the business
course.
KS: Your program addresses the mental and emotional
features that may arise during massage. Do you also teach your students
when it is appropriate to refer a client to another health professional?
Do they learn to keep a resource file for referrals, also?
SD: Yes and yes. We teach our students how to assess their clients
so that they know when to massage and when to refer to another member
of the health care team. It just makes sense to know when to refer and
to whom to refer.
KS: What can you tell us about the faculty? (How many
teachers, their fields, their academic credentials.)
SD: We are very proud of the faculty for this ground-breaking
program. There are about twenty highly skilled and knowledgeable teachers
ready to present this inaugural course. The faculty is mostly made up
of successful massage therapists, but it includes psychotherapists,
chiropractors and a clinical nutritionist. This crew is passionate about
taking massage to the next level.
KS: The best of luck to ASHA and the program, Stan!
You’re providing something wonderful for Georgia massage therapists.
For more in-depth information on the Graduate Program for Massage Therapists
at ASHA, contact them at 770.368.2661.
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