Not Your Grandpa’s Trade School: How DEC is Redefining Career Education for the Next Generation
June 5, 2025
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MASSAGE THERAPY PROGRAM
DIPLOMA PROGRAM
Are you an intuitive person who feels called to help others?
Are you looking for a meaningful, people‑centered career in the beauty and wellness field — one that lets you support clients dealing with pain, injury recovery, or stress?
If so, Massage Therapy is an exceptional career choice, offering fulfillment, flexibility, and long‑term stability in a hands‑on profession that will always require the human element.
This program provides graduates with the skills and knowledge to obtain entry-level positions in the fields of massage therapy. Students learn the essentials of anatomy, physiology, kinesiology, and pathology, providing them a solid foundation for mastering many different bodywork modalities. This program highlights coursework in areas of ethics, hygiene, documentation, and integrated bodywork techniques including aromatherapy, reflexology, and shiatsu. Students not only learn and practice classical massage modalities, but also clinical techniques such as lymph massage, neuromuscular, and myofascial. Students will explore numerous career tracks including massage in a spa environment, sports massage, and self-employment. This program covers business and career development, along with training in laws and regulations.
Changing Lives EVERY DAY!
Led by experienced massage professionals, in collaboration with industry experts and area employers, DEC’s massage therapy program ensures that students are provided with the most up-to-date techniques to succeed in the field of massage therapy and bodywork.
Careers Opportunities include:
– Spa Environments
– Rehabilitation Clinics / Sports Massage
– Doctors’ / Chiropractors’ Offices
– Massage Studios
– Private Practices
– Self-Employment
– And many more!
Hands-on learning begins DAY ONE!
All students will participate in a student massage clinic where they will provide massage services to the general public. This allows students to train in and practice their massage and bodywork, client interaction, and professional skills on the community under the supervision of a skilled massage instructor.
Certification and Licensure:
Graduates are eligible to sit for the Massage and Bodywork Licensing Examination (MBLEx) offered by the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards (FSMTB), in order to apply for initial licensure. Licensure is required to practice in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Students will prepare for being a licensed massage therapist with an opportunity to practice on the public in a clinic setting. They will have an opportunity to practice the modalities that they learned in class and apply it to the general public in the clinic. The students will get 100 hours of hands on experience.
EMPLOYERS OF DEC GRADS INCLUDE:
Chaney’s Natural
Christy & Co. Salon
Glam Glitter & Glow
Gypsy Soul Spa
and and Stone
La Beaute
Lifestream Holistic Health Center
Massage Envy
Michele’s Spa
Oak Lodge Spa
Onyx Wellness
Relaxology
Spin Unlimited
Southpoint Massage Therapy
FACULTY
CLICK TO EXPAND
+ CHELSE MCQUAIDE, Coordinator
ASB, Massage Therapy, McCann School of Business & Technology
Licensed Massage Therapist
+ CHRISTINA BENTON, Instructor
Diploma, Massage Therapy, Laurel Business Institute
Licensed Massage Therapist
