Bodywork

Before the state licensing...

Although I have been licensed since 2012, I have been practicing massage professionally for almost fifteen years. (Pennsylvania is one of the last states to make licensing available for massage therapists.) Until I attended Career Training Academy, I was an avowed amateur, never charging or claiming expertise. I had been learning massage by doing it, without schooling (there were no massage schools in my half of the state in the 1970's). When I entered Career Training Academy to prepare for the professional practice of massage, I was told that I was already using "Swedish...good Swedish" and some more advanced techniques including neuromuscular, trigger point, and reflexology, all learned without formal schooling. Career Training Academy gave me an invaluable background in anatomy, physiology and kinesthesiology. They taught the standards of assessment, documentation, and health regulations necessary for licensing as a professional. I became Nationally Certified in Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCTMB 398195-00 2003) with high marks in each of the four content areas tested. Continuing Education courses include "Massage for Active Seniors," "Systemic Lupus Erythematosis," "Massage and Cancer," "Pathology and Chronic Conditions," "Understanding Alternative Medicine," "Alcohol abuse and Dependence," "Isometrics," "Somatic Breathing" and others, along with many ethics courses.