The Essentials of Massage & Bodywork (Essentials 120 Clock Hours/ 10.0 units) course is the foundation for learning at IPSB, for either professional training or personal growth and spiritual development. It is the prerequisite for the Massage Therapy Certificate program and the foundation for the school’s philosophical approach to learning. It gives the student a solid core of skills, knowledge,and experiential understanding of the integration of Body-Mind-Emotions-Spirit through the work of holistic body practices.

The coursework is based on a Three Centers concept: the physical, emotional, and intellectual centers. The physical center relates to the physical instinct and the concept of being grounded and able to take care of our needs. The emotional center relates to the heart and the flow of emotions to the outside world. The intellectual center relates to being aware of the outside world, organizing the senses, and understanding what is going on.

These centers are seen as corresponding to areas of the body: the physical center relates to the legs and lower abdomen; the emotional center to the chest, arms and thorax; and the intellectual center, to the head and neck. The Essentials of Massage and Bodywork course is designed to create an opening and integration of these centers in the student and to give a format for balancing and opening these centers in others. When these centers are integrated and flowing, their unity produces the Spirit.

The HHP program includes all the coursework required for the MT program plus Essentials. This 1005-hour program meets the local City of San Diego educational requirements of training to become a licensed Holistic Health Practitioner. In the HHP program students begin study in a specialized area of bodywork. The required courses shape communication with clients, develop an analytical method of observing body language, viewing body structure, and creating effective somatic vocabulary.

This upper level massage training grooms the student as a true professional prepared for a wide variety of practice, competent in one or more specialty areas, and able to contribute in a variety of clinical settings and with other professionals. Many major categories of bodywork are presented along with a selection of specialized certificate courses. The Holistic Health Practitioner certificate is the next step toward the Associate degree.

The HHP program is designed to be completed by full-time students within 7 quarters, by three-quarter-time students within 10 quarters and by half-time students within 14 quarters. Participation during the Summer session, July and August, is optional. We recommend that students complete this program on a three quarter time schedule to allow time for assimilation. Upon satisfactory completion of the training, graduates will be qualified as self-employed private practice therapists who can open their own massage therapy establishments and employ other massage therapists. Their training also prepares them to be advanced level practitioners in spas, health clinics, medical offices, chiropractic offices, hotels and resorts.

Program Objectives:

• To develop practitioners who can demonstrate competence in a chosen body therapy and possess a breadth of knowledge beyond this major area of study.
• To provide the necessary training to become a licensed Holistic Health Practitioner in the city of San Diego.
• To encourage students to expand their professional involvement in the massage and bodywork field, research, and the community at-large.
• To qualify graduates to become successful self-employed non-medical health practitioners who can open their own establishments and employ other massage therapists.
• To prepare graduates to be advanced level practitioners in a variety of professional settings.

The 600-hour Massage Therapy Certificate Program meets the local City of San Diego educational requirements of 500 hours of training to become a licensed Massage Therapist. It provides a basic well-rounded education in hands-on bodywork techniques most commonly expected by employers and the general public. It blends the three centers approach from Essentials with the practical application of session design, anatomy and physiology needed to assess properly client needs and determine appropriate bodywork applications.

Courses in this program include the Contemporary Methods of Massage & Bodywork, which expands on the basic information presented in the Essentials course, and introduces Asian Healing Arts and Clinical experience into the training. College level anatomy, physiology and pathology, client communications, business practices and ethics, an introduction to the advanced pain management techniques of Neuromuscular Therapy, additional study of Asian Healing Arts, and elective massage and movement classes are also included in the Massage Therapy program curriculum. In addition, the program addresses the subjects covered in the National Certification Exam administered by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB), also a requirement for local licensure.

The MT program is designed to be completed after the prerequisite Essentials course by full-time students within five quarters, by three-quarter-time students within six quarters and by half-time students within nine quarters. The Academic Calendar is scheduled from September through June. Participation during the Summer session, July and August, is optional, but strongly recommended. We recommend that students complete this program on a three-quarter-time schedule to allow time for assimilation. One additional quarter should be added if a prerequisite class(es) needs to be completed. Upon satisfactory completion of the Massage Therapy Program, graduates will be qualified for entry level positions, such as Massage Therapists in spas, health clinics, medical offices, chiropractic offices, and hotels, as well as individual private practice.

Program Objectives:

• To provide a basic well-rounded education in hands-on bodywork techniques most commonly expected by employers and the general public.
• To provide the necessary training to become a licensed Massage Therapist in the City of San Diego and to successfully prepare students to pass the National Certification Exam administered by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB).
• To blend the Three Centers approach from Essentials with the practical application of session design, anatomy, physiology, and pathology and contradictions needed to assess properly client needs and determine appropriate bodywork applications.
• To master the bodywork techniques and skills introduced in Essentials, introduce additional modalities to the students’ repertoire, and provide students with practical hands-on experience in a professional clinical setting.
• To prepare graduates to become successful independent business practitioners or employees in a variety of professional settings.

The Associate of Science Degree program includes all the course work required for the Massage Therapy and Holistic Health Practitioner certificate programs. The entire A. S. program, can be completed by full-time students within 9 quarters, by three-quarter-time students within 12 quarters and by half-time students within 18 quarters. On satisfactory completion of the training, graduates will be qualified as self-employed private practice therapists and as advanced level practitioners in spas, health clinics, medical offices, chiropractic offices, hotels and resorts.

Program Objectives:

• To support an exceptional career and life-long learning with advanced training in a bodywork specialization.
• To establish educational competency in math, writing, and oral communication on both state and national levels.
• To provide a curriculum that blends academic coursework with experiential learning and somatic awareness of the body/mind integration.
• To qualify graduates to become somatic educators in addition to practicing therapists.

The College currently is accepting “interest” requests from those individuals interested in pursuing the Bachelor’s of Arts program in Holistic Health. Presently, COMTA does not accredit programs above associate degrees, and, therefore, this program is not accredited.

The Bachelor’s Degree in Holistic Health includes the Associate Degree program coursework which provides depth in the major subject area of massage and bodywork. The additional units required add cultural context and literacy to the vocational studies. A graduate is qualified to obtain a massage permit in San Diego and most areas in the nation, as well as to sit for the National Certification Exam for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork. The instruction involves specialization of a practical and theoretical nature. Putting bodywork into the context of a Bachelor of Arts study is a somewhat innovative step. Traditionally, the body has been the province of natural sciences. In this program we study the “somatic” body, the “experiential” body. We believe this is an essential part of growth and deepening learning. Numerous traditions assert that the body is a key to wisdom. We think it is, and we have created a college which enables a developing study of that body.

The Bachelor of Arts in Holistic Health provides solid training in body-oriented therapies. The curriculum provides theoretical grounding in the nature of consciousness, paradigms of consciousness, and principles of holism. This assists students in negotiating the crucial shift from a linear perception of disease (as externally imposed) to a systemic perspective that understands illness to be a function of one’s relationship to self and the environment.

The course content in the Bachelor’s Program includes the humanities. Students explore history through the ages, as well as art, music, anthropology, sociology, and psychology. In addition, there will be some study of the ‘Great Works’ in the English Cannon to expand the student’s ability to understand voices from the past. The self-directed learning allows the student to integrate many other avenues of exploration, which provide a well-rounded education in holistic health and massage and bodywork.

Program Objectives:

• To establish a new level of literacy encompassing a variety of holistic health philosophies so that graduates will be able to demonstrate competency in intellectual and kinesthetic applications of somatic methods.
• To provide students with a liberal arts education which puts holistic health in context historically, philosophically, and culturally.
• To expand the practitioner’s skill level through additional bodywork specializations.
• To assist students in negotiating the crucial shift from a linear perception of disease as externally imposed to a systemic perspective that understands illness to be a function of one’s relationship to self and the environment.
• To further prepare graduates for careers that complement medical, physical and psychological practices.

The College currently is accepting “interest” requests from those individuals interested in pursing the Master’s of Arts program in Somatics. Presently, COMTA does not accredit programs above associate degrees, and, therefore, this program is not accredited.

The International Professional School of Bodywork’s Master of Arts degree in Somatics program expands our comprehensive program in Holism and will usher in a new era of professionalism in Somatic Education and the field of Somatic Massage and Bodywork. This program is the first of its kind.

Somatic Characteristics as defined by IPSB can be grouped into areas of study rather than defined by a limiting boundary. The three essential characteristics of the somatic viewpoint are: there is a trust in essential body wisdom; personal experience is honored; and awareness is a tool. There are five elements for dialogue that continue to emerge; the body’s wisdom, sensory input, movement, energy, and consciousness or spirit.

Somatic Studies allow the student to focus on an area of interest within the field. These studies include an overview of the principles within the numerous somatic bodywork techniques. The students develop a depth and breadth of knowledge in a different way than ever before. The wide range of individualized study may vary from comparative studies to an in-depth study of techniques and their benefits.

Somatic Education trains people to become somatic educators for individual clients or for groups. The distinction will be determined from previous experience and the study undertaken. This area will provide formal research and methodologies most effective for teaching and evaluating massage therapy knowledge and hands-on skills. We anticipate our graduates will teach excellent, researched somatic learning methods in massage and chiropractic schools, and even some universities.

This program offers a Master of Arts degree in Somatics which reflects advanced specialization and scholarly achievement, comprehensive study in some aspect of the field of bodywork, and a Master’s level thesis or research project. The coursework for this graduate degree is consistent with the requirements for any formal graduate program. Courses require critical analysis and dialogue, a professional application of specialized knowledge, independent study, and research.

The program includes seminar topics in somatics, research studies and methodologies, self-directed study projects, and a thesis or research project. The objective of the Master of Arts degree is to qualify students with a scholarly mastery in Somatics to make original contributions to the field by conducting research, by creating comparative studies of alternative and allopathic medicine, and by completing a written thesis that is of publishable quality.

Program Objectives:

• To introduce practitioners to a new era of professionalism in Somatic Education and the field of Somatic Massage and Bodywork.
• To challenge practitioners toward scholarly mastery in somatics with the ability to make original contributions to the field through research, comparative studies of integrative and allopathic medicine, and a written thesis that is of publishable quality.
• To provide students an opportunity to develop a depth and breadth of knowledge through self-directed learning experiences and research projects.
• To provide formal research and methodologies for teaching and evaluating massage therapy knowledge and hands-on skills.
• To prepare graduates to teach researched somatic learning methods in a variety of academic settings. The student is expected to enter the program with an appropriate academic background and embodied knowledge of techniques within the field. Critical thinking and writing skills are necessary for successful program completion. Possession of an IPSB Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent Bachelor’s degree from a state approved institution with a minimum of 750 hours of bodywork training shall be required for admission into the Master’s degree program. Not more than 9 quarter credit units may be transferred from another institution toward the Master’s degree. The Master of Arts in Somatics is designed to be completed within 6 quarters for full-time students (9 credits per quarter), over the course of two calendar years. Classes may not be offered in a part-time format.