HELENA — Helena College is relaunching its massage therapy program after pausing for about a year.
"Massage therapy, in general, is a field that is growing exponentially right now," said the program's director, Liz Samson.
The program first ran from 2022 through 2023 but stopped for a year to rework the curriculum.
The program's students will complete 759 hours from Sept. 9 to April 25, and work Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
"Half of the day is classroom material like anatomy, physiology, kinesiology [and] pathology. Then, the second half of their day they spend all hands-on," Samson said.
The massage therapy program is currently accepting registrations. It has a minimum of five students with a cap of 12 to keep class sizes manageable.
"It's really needed in Helena. I think it's a really integral part of where our health care system is going," said Jeri Bucy, the director of the community education center.
The program aims to set a foundation for a student's career.
"We've got a really strong focus on business," Samson said. "We go to school to do these awesome trades but don't learn to run businesses. We want to make sure that we are setting our students up for success."
Starting in March, community members can come in for clinical hours.
Students will pay just under $10,000 for the massage therapy program.
The program is also unique to the state.
"We are kind of on the forefront here. There are no other massage therapy programs in Montana that are with a community college," said Samson.
You can find more information about the program and where to register here.
