Massage course in Surrey or London?

[apples and oranges]

Hello,

I am new and would like to start learning some complementary therapies. I was thinking of startaing with massage, and build up on that! I get really confused by the diversity of the offer: some places such as the Carlton Institute offer two day IIHHT courses while some other places offer an ITEC 20 day course, including anatomy and physiology, massage and practice management. Why is there such a difference? Can you actually learn basic massage in two days and get insurance and everything? Is ITEC a good thing? :S
And if anyone can recommend a place to study massage (weekend or evenings!) in Surrey or London, that's be great!

Thanks,

Claire.

 

[Bret H]

Hi

Depends on what you are looking for but London Therapists do one day, fully accredited and fully insurable courses in the London area - I can recommend them.

Their web address is london-therapists.com

Ellie x

 

[bubblegum13]

Umm. That old adage, you get what you pay for comes to mind. No. You cannot have a full understanding of anatomy and physiology as well as develop massage techniques in two days. It really depends on your motivation as to which you go for. Do you want to be someone who offers a quality service or someone who can earn a bit of money on the side?

Why is there such a difference in the time allocated to qualify in each course? Because one is going to provide you with the ability to go through the motions while the other will set you on the road to being a good massager. The choice is up to you. I know which I would go for.

 

[Tris]

Yes you can learn the basic massage movements, but IMHO that is all, you will not learn anything else for example A&P or Codes of Conduct or Practice Management in two days. Or Sit an exam or do Case studies.
As for one day courses IMO forget them unless you use them for CPD.

I agree with randomone who said.

Why is there such a difference in the time allocated to qualify in each course? Because one is going to provide you with the ability to go through the motions while the other will set you on the road to being a good massager. The choice is up to you. I know which I would go for.

 

[Mike P]

Hi Claire

When I mentioned London Therapists I did say it depends what you are looking for. A lot of people who undertake their courses are already qualified in A & P and anyone looking to qualify in Swedish Massage I would recommend a longer course. However, for one day courses they include quite a lot of A & P content, work in very small groups so your receive good tuition and are accredited with several professional bodies.

I can't comment of ITEC weekendcourses as I completed mine at College and there is a lot to do!

Hope this helps
Ellie x

 

[royalcres]

Hi Claire

I'd recommend reading the earlier thread [link=http://www.healthypages.net/forum/tm.asp?m=291982]Courses [/link]. As I mentioned on that thread, I would recommend the London College of Massage ([link=http://www.massagelondon.com/courses.htm]http://www.massagelondon.com/courses.htm[/link]). ITEC courses seem to differ widely in standard: as you'll discover if you browse through earlier threads, they have some satisfied customers and some who are far from satisfied. I began my massage career with an ITEC course. I was very disappointed with the quality of the tuition: we had much less practical massage than the 50 hours which ITEC recommend, and we weren't taught the importance of basic body mechanics and of having the couch low enough to ensure that the massage is effective. And although I passed the course, I was so frustrated with the poor training that I felt the need to go on a short course at the LCM as a 'top-up' before proceeding to a sports massage course.
It is also worth noting that even the introductory LCM course includes both abdominal and gluteal massage, whereas it is clear from this forum that some ITEC tutors don't include either of these on their courses.
And if you are serious about massage, I definitely wouldn't regard a two-day course as adequate.

Regards

Alan

 

[lqehvufgifiihrelh]

Thank you all foryour answers! I will look into London College of Massage! I think Raworth has a good reputation as well, though.

 

[jeff rockout]

Hi Claire,

I just spotted your post and thought I would recommend Inspire Massage Workshops to you because they do everything from short courses for beginners to get a taster and to massage friends and family, through to ITEC courses, then really advanced specialist courses for qualified therapists. So you would be able to do a short one day course in something like Indian Head Massage without much financial outlay, and you would be able to see whether you liked it, and whether you liked the tutor, before commiting to a proper course to become a professional.

I did my original ITEC course elsewhere but have since done some courses with Inspire and they have been wonderful. They gave me so much help after the courses as well, which is when other massage schools seem to start ignoring you!

I met a couple of people at a workshop recently who were in the middle of the ITEC massage course with Inspire and they both said they were really pleased with it. They said that because the tutors are such knowledgeable and respected figures in the massage world, they thought they had learned much more than the average ITEC course teaches. They also mentioned that the group was really small which is rare to find with ITEC courses and the tutors have been really helpful with finding them work for once they qualify.

Also i've been to the building where the ITEC course takes place as they do some of the othercourses from there to. It's really beautiful, spacious and very clean, and is surrounded by Richmond Park and Wimbledon Common, which make lovely places for lunch breaks!

Anyway, whichever course you go with in the end, good luck with it! Hope you enjoy being a massage therapist in the future as much as I do!

Janey

 

[Lin Diane]

I trained at the London College of Massage - a fantastic place to learn, and in my opinion the countries best Massage training institute. Well worth the time and money - great college and fantastic tutors who know their subject matters, are active practitioners, passionate about massage and sharing the joy and power of touch!

Mat