Port Townsend School of Massage

My experience at Port Townsend School of Massage was overwhelmingly positive. I traveled long distance to attend their weekend program which is 550 hours over the course of about 14 months (I graduated in May 2014). The class sizes are small (mine was 8 students) and the course content and nature of the classes fosters a very rewarding bond between classmates. For me, taking this course to become a LMP was life changing. The school’s supportive and close-​knit nature made me feel glad to be coming back each weekend of class.
We spent long hours together in those classrooms, and the teachers understood our need to get up, move, stretch and have lots of breaks outside. There is a lot of material that needs to be covered for the sake of passing the test for lisensure, but in between the sometimes tedious coverage of anatomy, physiology, pathology and kinesiology which is necessary to build an understanding of the body, the teachers always made sure to change up the learning style to be more hands on, and encouraged a lot of self care. The day of our graduation had us all in happy tears, sad to leave, but very proud of what we had accomplished. Not one of us failed our state licensure exam and I felt very prepared when I was in there answering questions. The school prepared us very well for what we needed.
PS. There is nothing like having hours of massage trades as part of your schooling! I always left the school in a better mood than when I arrived.

Worth checking out if you are planning to attend a school of massage. Classes were small, and all of my instructors were top folks with incredible industry experience and perspective.
This school has a nice focus on holistic healing, and you have some choice within that in terms of areas to focus on. I also love their flexibility for training, with their weekend program that is ideal if you are looking for a career transition. It takes a bit longer, but sometimes it is the right thing for your situation.
Check out the intro to Swedish if you are thinking about it, and invest a weekend — you’ll be glad you did regardless of whether you choose this or another school.