Becoming a massage therapist in Texas can be accomplished in as little as eight months, depending on the class schedule at your massage therapy school. Basic massage therapy courses are 450 hours long and then you have to have an additional 50 hours of internship.

School is broken down into two parts each class day. The first part is classroom work. The second part is learning how to give massages.

Classroom work consists of lectures and course study. You will study a lot of anatomy and physiology. You will learn all of the systems of the body, with special emphasis on the bones and the muscles. The work is difficult and requires a lot of memorization. There are tests almost every week. You will be responsible for reading hundreds of pages of material each week.

The other part of school is giving and receiving massages each day. For one half of the allotted time, you will learn to give massages, starting with one area of the body at a time. Your instructor will demonstrate massage strokes and then everyone will partner up with another student and practice the massage strokes. During this time, your partner will be your client. When the time is up, you switch places. Your partner becomes the massage therapist and you become the client. This is the cool part, because each day, you will receive free massages. The back massages are fabulous!

It is a good idea to switch partners so you can practice on different body types and so you can receive massages from different people. Some have a natural gift of knowing just how to handle your muscles, while others are very hesitant and unsure of themselves. Learn from each person who massages you.

When you go home after class, you will need to read your chapters and study the material. You will also need to practice the massage strokes and techniques that you have learned on family members and friends. You will be busy the entire time you are a student, either studying or massaging someone. Do not waste your time watching TV during this time. Remember that you are investing in your future. Practicing techniques now will insure that you are a great massage therapist whose new clients will return again and again, providing you with a good, solid income as you begin your new massage therapy career.

Once your classes have been completed, you will take final exams. You will have a long, written final exam covering all of the classroom material, including anatomy and physiology. It is difficult, but if you have been studying all along, you should not have a problem passing it.

Then, you will have to perform massage strokes and techniques on an instructor at your school. You will not know what massage strokes and techniques you will be asked to perform until you are actually at the massage table. So be prepared! You can only be prepared if you have been diligently practicing each day throughout massage school.

Once you have passed both finals, you become an intern. What does this mean?

The internship is providing 50 hours of massage therapy as a student. Basically, you will perform 50 supervised massages that the school will schedule for you. This takes about a month to complete. You will be scheduled to sit at your school and wait for clients to come in and be massaged.

If you have a lot of family and friends, you can ask them to call in and make appointments for you only. They have to pay the school for the massages, but they get a discounted rate, around $30 now. You, however, will not be paid and you are not allowed to take tips. If you do and you are caught, you can forget about getting your state license. Sometimes people will come in to see if you will accept a tip just to trap you. Be smart and always say, "Thank you, but we are not allowed to accept money while we are students."

While you are waiting for massage clients during your internship, you may have to do the school's laundry. I had to do a lot of it while waiting for clients.

There are many other students waiting to perform their massages as well. If you want to finish quickly, make friends with the receptionist who takes the calls and do whatever is asked of you with a smile. Laundry is a drag when you should be getting those 50 required massages out of the way, but if you play the game, you will get the massages over with quickly.

Once the required 50 massages are completed, your school will certify you and give you a state application packet so that you can take your state massage therapy test. These are given in Texas four times a year in Austin, our state capitol.

While you wait to become licensed, you can apply for a temporary license in Texas to become a massage therapist. While you wait, continue to study and practice on clients without charging them. Once you receive your temporary state license, you may begin to charge clients for your services.

You will have to take a long, written exam, as well as provide a five minute massage that is filmed and then evaluated by the state massage board. You will wait an additional six weeks to hear whether or not your state license has been granted.

Good luck on becoming a massage therapist in Texas. For additional information, please visit the page below.