Articles - Winter 2007 - return to index
Massage
Therapy
When Morgan deVos was contemplating a career change, a friend asked her, "What do you love to do more than anything else in the world?" DeVos, then in property management said, "Massage. I want to make a living helping people feel better."
The 49-year-old deVos compared costs of massage therapy programs in Oregon and learned that Lane's Licensed Massage Therapy tuition was about $5,500 —less than half the cost of most schools. But deVos says it was the welcoming conversation she had with Lane's massage therapy program coordinator that really swayed her to enroll at Lane.
Lane’s program, offered through Continuing Education, includes dozens of prelicense classes for anyone looking for career development, training, or simply life enrichment. The program provides continuing education hours for licensed massage therapists as well.
DeVos describes Lane's massage instructors-all bodywork practitioners with private practices—as "fabulous...in it for the love of massage. I felt inspired in the experience of learning."
Students are required to take classes in anatomy, physiology, pathology, kinesiology, and professional ethics, along
with technique labs in Swedish massage, spa therapies and trigger point therapy, among others. They also study treatment plans for specific injuries and pain conditions that train them for employment in multiple settings.
The curricula prepares students for the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork, and the Oregon State Board of Massage Therapists Certification Exam. Most students finish the required coursework in five to six terms.
DeVos, now an instructional assistant in three massage labs, says the program provides a "balanced foundation," one that she feels has prepared her to begin her own practice.
Although planning to specialize in the treatment of depression and Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, deVos says, "I feel like my real job is to do whatever it is that needs to be done-and without too much 'wuwu.' I will be led to that path, one massage at a time."
Applications for the Licensed Massage Therapy program are available at the Lane Community College Downtown Center. For more information, see 2011sitearchive.lanecc.edu/ce/careertraining/lmt.html or call (541) 463-5252.
Read more Lane Success Stories
