Massage Therapy Schools in Trenton, NJ

Would-be massage therapists can find what they need to get their careers going in the Trenton area. There are multiple massage schools, offering license-qualifying programs and advanced education. There’s also a lot nearby to be inspired by, some of it taking place under the banner of healthcare organizations.

Top Massage Therapy Schools in Trenton and Surrounding Areas

Eastern Massage Institute (West Windsor) offers an approved 600-hour pre-licensure program. It also has a 200-hour advanced program for massage practitioners who have already completed at least 500 hours of education. The advanced program is characterized as a blend of Eastern and Western.

The Santhigram School of Ayurveda and Massage offers a 500-hour program. The program includes 120 hours of anatomy and physiology and introduces students to multiple modalities. The school also offers an Ayurvedic and Panchakarma massage certification program.

Lourdes Institute of Wholistic Studies in Camden offers multiple options, either in-house or in partnership with Camden County College. This is the place for those who want to earn an associate’s degree in conjunction with their massage training. Students who choose the LIWS/ Camden County College associate’s degree option over the certificate will have some additional massage coursework, including Business Management for the Massage Professional and Integrated Myofascial Structural Techniques. They also have some general/ supportive coursework. The Lourdes Institute also offers an in-house 617-hour wholistic massage program. Students who opt for the in-house program will also have training in integrated myofascial techniques; aromatherapy and reflexology are among the other offerings.

The American Institute (Somerset) is ABHES-accredited. Swedish massage, therapeutic massage, and Shiatsu are among the approaches covered. Students will have some exposure to a number of modalities, including reflexology and prenatal massage. Like the Eastern Massage Institute and the Lourdes Institute, AI is a school member of the American Massage Therapy Association. The American Massage Therapy Association lists AI program hours as 750.

Learn More: Massage Schools in New Jersey

Educational Foundations

New Jersey mandates that massage therapist programs be at least 500 hours and that they include particular curricular components. A minimum of 90 hours will be in the combined areas of anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology; 100 will be in clinical practice. The program will need appropriate accreditation or approval. Several New Jersey departments are referenced. Comparable agencies in other states can be accepted.

Massage in Healthcare

Massage therapy services are available at chiropractic offices and wellness centers like Tucker Chiropractic Center and Civinski Chiropractic & Wellness Center. Evans Chiropractic has chiropractic services, massage therapy, wellness classes, and even animal chiropractic services.

This is an area where massage has a relatively high profile in healthcare systems, though a very small portion of massage therapists are actually working in one.

Capital Health offers massage therapy through its Oasis Salon & Wellness Center in Pennington. One will find oncology massage among the offerings, as well as manual lymphatic drainage, a modality that, they note, can assist with surgical recovery. Prenatal massage and targeted muscle massage are among the other therapeutic options. The facility is open to the public, though, and there are options for people who are generally healthy, including classic massage and even aromatherapy or hot stone. There’s a girls’ day spa party that includes an upper body massage.

Further down the road in Camden, Virtua One offers therapeutic massage to the public; manual lymphatic drainage massage is also available to lymphedema patients. Virtua Worksite Wellness includes seated chair massage among its services; other services include health screenings and behavior modification programs (e.g. smoking cessation and stress management). One will find quite a few massage professionals on the wellness services staff (https://www.virtua.org/services/wellness-services).

Massage Studios and Spas in the Greater Trenton Area

Many massage therapists in this part of New Jersey work for massage and spa franchises. This is Hand and Stone territory – there are quite a few in the area! There are also multiple Massage Envy franchises, bringing their brand of massage and spa.

Locally owned practices, too, often incorporate massage and other spa treatments.

The following are among the popular practices in the Trenton area:

  • Effective Massage and Relexology (Cherry Hill)
  • Oasis Healing Massage (Hamilton Township)
  • Renewed Spa Massage (Pennington)
  • The Massage Garden (Mercerville)
  • iMassage and Spa (Hamilton)
  • Fit 2 Stretch Massage and Stretch Therapy (Somerset)

The Massage Garden has won a Trentonian Reader’s Choice award several times over the years. It includes Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy, Thai Massage, and Neuromuscular Therapy on the massage menu. There are heated massage tables.

Some practices provide specialized bodywork treatments; these may draw from different traditions. Santhigram Wellness Kerala Ayurveda utilizes LMTs who can provide Ayurvedic and Panchakarma therapies. New Jersey is one of several states where Santhigram Wellness has a presence.

Self-Employment

The Massage Garden is co-owned by two massage therapists. There are currently three other massage therapists on the team.

Many massage therapists around the nation are self-employed. Some run small solo practices or do contract work for others. Other LMTs manage teams of their own.

Trenton Massage Therapist Salary Data

The mean hourly massage therapist wage in the Trenton, New Jersey metropolitan area was $24.71 in 2018; this is higher than average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics listed a more narrow range of wages for this metropolitan area than for many in the country. It appears there aren’t many low-wage massage therapy jobs in Trenton! Massage therapists at the 10th percentile had an hourly wage of $19.41 — an unusually high 10th percentile wage. The 90th percentile wage was $29.66, below the nationwide norm. One will find wider ranges and lower averages as they move further from Trenton (e.g. into the greater Philadelphia metropolitan area, which includes Camden).