Massage Therapy as a Health Care Profession

The programs of study offered by the College of Health and Wellness are based upon two assumptions about massage therapy: that massage therapy is a type of health care and that massage therapy is a profession.

Massage Therapy as Health Care

The first assumption is that massage therapy is a type of health care. While we are respectful of the diversity of approaches to massage practice, the intention of the College of Health and Wellness is to prepare therapists to work with other wellness and medical health care providers. While we offer thorough training in basic relaxation-oriented massage, we do so as preparation for more specific therapeutic and clinical work. Massage therapy practiced in health care environments tends to be more problem-based and more strongly focused on soft-tissue rehabilitative techniques. The majority of our technique training focuses on this type of work. As a health sciences university, Northwestern believes that integrative health care practitioners should be trained together and will, in many instances, practice together. The University and the College view massage therapy as an integral part of health care.

Massage Therapy as a Profession

The second assumption is that massage therapy is a profession, as opposed to simply a career or a trade. As professionals, massage therapists should be expected to conduct themselves in the same professional manner as doctors, nurses and other health care professionals in terms of their interactions with patients, clients, other providers and the general public. Professionals are generally held to higher and more specific ethical and behavioral standards. The curriculum provides specific preparation in the areas of communication skills, lifelong learning, ethical decision-making, legal and regulatory issues, and professional practice development.