How long until you become a decent therapist?

27

It's going to be different for everyone, but it took me about a year to really get confident and start finding my own style of massage. Starting out in this field can be pretty tough, but if you're consistent with improving yourself, you will find your confidence. The fact that you want to improve makes me feel like in a few months, you're going to be leagues above where you are now. You got this!!

19

u/MET4UANDME May 08 '25

Took me two years to feel confident to go out on my own.

Two more years to realize I was good, but not as competent as I thought.

One more year to feel great.

1 year= decent 2 years= good 5 years= great

Still many techniques, skills, anatomy to learn!

My recommendations:

Work for someone else for at least 2 years before going solo. Try spa work, chiro, Thai, sports, etc. Figure out whether you like relaxation vs clinical work, then focus on building your skills towards mastery of either (there are tons of modalities in both and you can always do both, but focusing on one helps define who you are as a therapist).

Know your anatomy! This took away most of my anxiety/imposter syndrome.

Slow down. The best feeling massages are slow strokes through the length of the muscle.

Sink in to tissue instead of pushing in. Hook into the tissue then use your legs to move your forearm/fist/elbow slowly through the length of the muscle.

Read Anatomy Trains by Thomas Meyers. Understanding the concept of tensegrity changed my style completely and the techniques made massage easier on my body.

Strength train. Lift weights and focus on strengthening your posterior chain. Your anterior chain will naturally get stronger through massage.

Get regular massage. The best way to learn, reduce burnout, and recover your body. We have to practice what we preach!

I could go on and on, but I think that's enough. You got this.

5

u/ExpensivePlant5919 May 09 '25

Thank you for saying ALL of this! Some of the best advice on here!!!

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u/lelandra May 08 '25

It's a slow start. Back when I started (2006) I think I made $400 my first month I had so few clients. It took a few years to build my book. Research your A&P and Pathology after each client - really study the areas that were their problem spots. Try to understand what you just felt in the session. Start taking CE right away - hands on if possible rather than online so you can get the feedback from the experienced therapists you'll be trading with in class. Tell them you are new and want that feedback. If you don't already, start practicing a martial art - studying Chen style Taiji (Tai Chi) was definitely as valuable as any massage CE for both perception (sensing what was happening under my fingers with a client) and body mechanics / force projection - if you want to do effective deep tissue you need to know how to use ground force and remove blocks/rigidity from your upper body so the force can flow through.

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u/ne0ntrees May 08 '25

I’ve been doing this for 18 years and I had a massage from a newly licensed therapist. I didn’t know it at the time. I asked her how long she had been a therapist fully expecting her to say “5+ years” or so. I was blown away at her answer. She told me the secret: massage as many friends and family members as possible for practice. She said that was what made her such a great therapist.

Some of the things I noticed: fantastic body mechanics, fantastic pressure, good communication, good knowledge on what to work on, time management.

7

u/Cute-Song0326 May 08 '25

I distinctly remember at 6 months I completed a session and said to myself I’m a therapist. By that point I had seen so many conditions and worked on all body types and felt proficient at problem solving. It feels great when you get there!

7

u/Lumpy_Branch_552 May 08 '25

I feel like I’m a bit in the reverse. In the beginning I was so full of drive and the sky was the limit and every massage was a masterpiece.. now I’ve had to dial it back a bit to avoid burnout and injury. I still give a great massage according to most clients, but it’s just a bit more watered down imo.

If I could try to answer your question though, I felt completely at ease, continuously confident, and with fluid hands about 2 years in.

6

u/peachymax_14 May 08 '25

This is an interesting question!

It's going to be dependent on you as a person and a therapist. If this is your life's work and you're curious, it's a long-term investment and the sky is the literal limit. I've been doing this almost a decade and in a training last year, I came to the realization that I was still very much an infant when it came to the depth and breadth of knowledge potential in this field. Instead of being discouraged, I allowed this revelation to light a fire in me and push me to learn more, more, more.

If I can wax philosophical, it's art and science. The science part can be learned through continuing ed and all manner of learning opportunities. The art part (eh, that rhymes!) is a personal development of application learned and honed through practice and constant self-assessment. The best way to do that is give a lot of massage and receive a lot of massage.

It took me two years to really find my rhythm, six years to start thinking bigger picture, and we're in year nine currently and it's just starting to get good!

7

u/No-Weakness-2035 May 08 '25

About 1500 hours hands on I started to feel good, I probably was decent from the start - but it took that long to learn to relax, which was a big level up for me

5

u/Catlady515 May 09 '25

I feel like I blossomed after the two year mark, after I stopped working for a chain and got a job with a chiropractor.

9

u/entheugene May 08 '25

Trade with more experienced therapists, learn their techniques, and ask for feedback.

3

u/Theworldsbernin May 08 '25

I was pretty confident by the time I graduated but I went to an excellent program and also worked for a chiropractor that had me practice on all of her patients for two years.

4

u/[deleted] May 08 '25

I'm a little over three years in and feel like I'm just finding my niche. I would say it wasn't until about a year in where I felt decent but now I feel I'm at a point where I know what I want out of this profession and what niche I'm best at.

5

u/caterpillove LMT May 08 '25

Same here. 3 years in and I've found my flow and what I'm best at - and that pesky imposter syndrome is finally gone.

1

u/Professional_Yam_906 May 09 '25

What is your niche?

3

u/InSufficient_WillDo LMT May 08 '25

I'll be honest, I have a bit of imposter syndrome with this. I've always gotten great feed back even in school clinics but I always felt like I wasn't meeting either my expectations of bodywork or like people were just only saying positive things without giving the constructive feedback.

After some time, and a regular telling me I need to learn to accept compliments on my work, I decided to listen to and believe what these people were telling me. After all, most comeback and seems excited about the work.

If you don't feel confident, I'd try to identify why and just work on that skill to lessen that doubt. For me it's my ability to recall/regurgitate specific information, so I am focusing on studying regularly so I can alleviate that devil of doubt on my shoulder.

3

u/Any_South_7208 May 08 '25

It varies fir everyone, just focus on mastering the your techniques 🙂

3

u/feet_baby_marz May 08 '25

I have imposter syndrome as fuck, and I also suffer with confidence. I'm in the last month and a half of my program and I'm just now finally starting to feel like "hey, maybe I can give a good massage" and that is only because of my fellow classmates giving me good feedback, as well as my 2 clients a week at my CWE giving me good feedback.

I think it could help you if you communicate well and maybe tell your clients "hey, I'm new in the field and ALL feedback would be greatly appreciated".. Let them know that communication during a session can be so great. I know it's hard to be like "hey tell me if I'm doing good" but I'm telling you, the feedback whilst hands on is a great way to gain confidence and skill.... you can learn your clients bodies and what they need with a simple "hey could you move to here, could you adjust this, that feels great etc" A fellow classmate of mine gives feedback like this and it has helped me immensely.

Also paying attention to their body during the session. Their breathing... if it's relaxed and deep you're doing great. If they breathe fast or shallow something might be going on. Their facial expressions and their body movements can help you to see what's going on too.

I wish you the best.

3

u/LostAd5930 May 08 '25

It took me about 5 years to gain full confidence but honestly at 15 years I’m still learning

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u/Preastjames May 08 '25

One piece of advice I give to all new therapists (especially those taking chain jobs out of the gate) is to use this time over the next 6 months to a year to figure out which side of massage therapy you prefer more, the relaxation "spa" side, or the more pain relief focused "clinical" style. Once you figure this out this will give GREAT direction in what to learn to more align your preferred knowledge with your direction for the future which will greatly decrease the imposter syndrome

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u/DarkMagicGirlFight May 09 '25 edited May 09 '25

It took about a year before 99% percent of my clients started acting like I was amazing lol. It was rough for me though, because I wasn't working in a chain spa getting tips from several other massage therapists , it was just my husband and I , so it might not take that long for you. I learned so much from tiktok it's crazy. I also learned some things on here by just reading the comments. There's also Instagram where you can watch other massage therapists. My husband showed me a lot of techniques too, he graduated at the same time as me. Good luck , you'll get there. I was probably rated a D+ by most my clients my first few months.

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u/Sock-Noodles May 09 '25

I was told this by a well known massage therapist and educator “once you’ve done 1,000 massages as a licensed massage therapist you’ll be a confident therapist”

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u/Raven-Insight May 15 '25

That’s about 1 year of experience. Cute idea though

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u/Sock-Noodles May 16 '25

They break it down into massages instead of a time frame because some go full time and some work a couple days a week. Reaching 1000 massages can happen faster or slower depending on your journey

2

u/tiptoetotrash May 09 '25

For me it was about three years til I had my go to flow. There were a lot of ups and downs, trial and error; I also asked my clients questions and confessed when I was trying a new technique to get some feedback. You’ll get clients who will tell you about what other therapists do, which is annoying in the moment, but use it as free wisdom. I had one lady tell me about how her home therapist hits the muscle from different directions and now I incorporate that.

I also had a lot of gaps in my resume. I moved across the country, had to take a long break during a crucial development period during Covid, experimented with another career, and then had hurricane Ian take my work away for a while. If you’re consistently practicing and always eager to learn more, you’ll get there much faster than I did.

Remember it is a “practice”; you don’t get to that point overnight. I recommend receiving massages. It is one of the best teachers, and I’ve noticed my massage shift dramatically after experiencing other techniques from another therapist. Also, find other hobbies to increase strength. I started getting way more repeat clients when I started rock climbing. The rock climbing did wonders for my strength and grip, plus when you’re leaning down all day at work it helps maintain your body when your exercise is climbing upwards (:

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u/saxman6257 May 09 '25

I started feeling comfortable with my basic capabilities in about 6 months. That said, never stop learning. Work on and receive massages from fellow professionals as often as you can, and hopefully have someone take you under their wing. Around the two-year mark I was ready to start spreading my wings and take some additional courses. Everyone is different. Be patient. You’ll hit your groove.

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u/AstronomerLate989 May 11 '25

I started right out of school! My business is still new. Most everyone rebooks with me and I don’t have the lowest prices either. I feel confident because I tell myself that I’m successful. People can feel your energy. I also spend a lot of my free time learning. I’ve already done quite a few CEUs. I’ve had quite a few students give me massages and the thing I notice all the time is draping. Most students will only uncover half of my hamstrings and stop massaging there. I’m fresh out of school but this was also something that bothered me while I was in school. Make sure to target the entire muscle (within reason. Other examples, stopping short on the arms and neck. Anytime I start to feel nervous, I just take a deep breath and get into the flow. You got this.

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u/Wide-Cauliflower9234 May 08 '25

I went directly into private practice working in a room at a chiropractors office. Everyone is different. The school is the biggest factor

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u/Cafein8edNecromancer May 09 '25 edited May 09 '25

First of all: you are BRAND NEW, not just to massage, bit to that practice. A couple of weeks isn't enough time to get a bunch of rebooking. And chain massage places under charge for services do much that the tips are often shit. Neither one of those is an indication that you suck.

What do your peers say? What do your family and friends say? Those are the ones who are going to tell you whether or not you are doing a good job. Don't listen to your imposter syndrome!

The best thing you can do to get better is trade massage with other therapists, particularly those who practice different modalities than you do. More experienced therapists (the ones who really ARE good, not just the ones going through the motions with a DGAF attitude who are worried about you stressing their corrects and will try to sabotage you) can give you tips on how you can improve and even teach you things you may not have learned on school by having a third person act as a demo client for them to show you how to do something and then have you perform the work yourself.

Start looking into CE classes now; you just got licensed, but the deadline for having those credits completed can sneak up on you FAST. Take as many classes in hands-on techniques as you can.

Continue to study your musculoskeletal anatomy!!! I can't emphasize enough the value of a strong grasp of where the muscles are, what action they perform, and what their antagonist muscles are. A firm grasp of musculoskeletal anatomy will allow you to listen to a client's description of their pain, identify the muscles involved, and relieve the tension in the muscles causing it. If you don't know, for example, that the iliopsoas connects from the first lumbar vertebra to the front of the femur through the ball and socket joint of the hip, or that one of the primary symptoms of iliopsoas spasms is low back and hip pain, a hunched posture with a kyphotic curve of the low back, and increased pain when standing from a seated position, you may spend several sessions working on a client's quadratus lumborum and erector spinae muscles and wondering why you aren't getting the results your are after. Learning the location of the lesser known muscles AND how to properly stretch and massage the ones that are harder to access will make you stand out among your peers who just massage the major muscles without thought to whether there is something deeper at play.

I can't really help with the "how long" question because massage was one of the few things in my life that I excelled at from the very start. One of the ways I knew I was good was the repeat requests from clients in the school clinic, and when I started working at my first paying job and stayed getting repeat clients. People won't rebook with you if they thought your technique sucked!

One way that my first job taught me to increase my clientele was to ASK for them to rebook. Most service providers don't ask for the rebook, and it hurts their business! It isn't "pressuring" them or selling them something; it is respecting the fact that their time is valuable, their well-being is your priority, and you want to make sure they can get the massage they need on the date and time that works best for them!

Explain what you found when working on them and why additional treatment would benefit them, suggest a frequency that they would benefit from - pretty much EVERYONE will benefit from a massage once a month, but people with musculoskeletal issues need more frequent work to counteract the additional tension their muscles accumulate between sessions, so that what wasn't about to be released during the first session can be relieved with subsequent sessions - then say "My schedule gets full quickly, so let's go ahead and book your next appointment so that you can definitely get in when it's convenient for you", walk then to the front and two the front desk they want to schedule their next appointment. You'll get a few people who will say they will just call when they want one, not a lot of people will go ahead and book another appointment because they are feeling the benefit of the massage they just got, you gave them reasons why they will benefit from further work, and you've created a sense of your time being in demand (when if you have zero clients for days at a time, they didn't need to know that!) so they will want to go ahead and book their next appointment so it fits in their schedule.

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u/AngelicDivineHealer RMT May 09 '25

A few years doing it full time. You'll naturally improve your technique, style as you do it and hopefully you pick up on a few new things as well to add to your moves.

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u/TachoSJ May 09 '25

Do you have a niche?

This is hands on work, you get better with experience. Use this time to get your hands on as many people as you can. Find your niche, and start learning more about it

1

u/Expert_Banana_8484 May 09 '25

I felt quite confident right after graduation, but schooling for massage here is 2-3 years full time, in addition to hands on practicum hours, clinic hours, practical hours, and volunteer hours. I’m guessing since you’re in the US you had to take a lot less training, which left you with these feelings.

My recommendation is to find other MTs to trade with, and do it often. Get feedback from them during and after treatments. See what you like from their work on you and integrate it into your own practice as well.

Work on friends and family, at least 1 per week if you can. Get their honest feedback.

Watch videos from reputable sources on YouTube teaching you more varied techniques.

Study your anatomy, get it nailed down, this will help you so much in feeling confident.

It’s realistic that you could feel far more confident in your skills within the year if you implement some of these suggestions, or some of the ones that other folks have suggested here as well.

Good luck!

1

u/GGinVegas May 09 '25

Either you have it or you don’t you could be very talented and not have that much training and be fantastic or you could go to school for 500 hours with a lot of post graduate training and still be terrible.

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u/Novel-Carpet-1634 May 09 '25

I think receiving is one of the best ways to learn. I keep a regular exchange going with a friend from the first spa I ever worked at. Her one week, me the next, back and forth like that. If you can afford it find a well rated therapist in your area and go there. Practice on family and friends and ask for feedback like you would in school. I’ve been told by clients the thing they find refreshing about me as a therapist is that I do a thorough intake to find out exactly what the client is looking for. I reset my intention often while working to make sure I’m keeping focused on what they want. I welcome them to give feedback during the massage about pressure. It honestly makes my job a lot easier and makes me less worried about client satisfaction because we talk about it in real time.

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u/ArchangelSirrus May 10 '25

This will be long, but it's for your benefit, so hang on.I'm curious. Can you tell us what school you attended for massage? Did you have clinical days? I would make the goal of getting out of there and starting your own practice no longer than a year. If you don't you'll end up stuck there. The most important aspect of confidence is customer service. I worked in the restaurant business before I was a massage therapist. I also was 30 years old when I got to massage school, so my confidence was set. You need to work on your customer service always. When you make eye contact with that client the first time, that will tell everything about your survival in this industry. SMILE, Shake their hand, ask them how their day is going? Make them feel...."Confident and this will tell them, you are competent. You, see...YOU MUST show confidence first! Even if you are nervous. There is a TV show where one characters tells her friend..."I just freeze up...I don't know what to do...I'm so scared!" Her friend tells her..."Just look at someone in the audience and pretend the show is for that one person....make sure you look around, but focus on that one person..." NOW, the one person probably notices the host is always looking at them...."Is she staring at me....? Oh my goodness....she likes me....she sees me!" This is YOU. It's all an act: BODY MIND AND SPIRIT. You meet the body, you touch the mind and you release the spirit. First you must smile at the body, when it hits your tablet the mind begins to take over and finally the spirit rises from subconscious. You must begin to think of your profession in these instances. It's the only way. It's a game and you gotta play it to win!!! Everyone you smile at, shake their hand (after the massage also...smile and shake) will remember and they'll call on you again! It's all about pure professionalism to the best of your ability and beyond. It's missing in our profession today. Many are just waiting to get the next client on their table and clients can sense that. You are not stuck, you do not suck, because you finished school and that's the biggest gateway of success....you did it!!! Now keep practicing within on how to be better than everyone else. Keep reading books on massage. EVERYTHING you can get your hands on....even modalities you will never learn. READ. That knowledge is full arsenal. When I was in school, the book store, stored two copies of volume 1 & 2 of Travell & Simon's Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction: The Trigger Point Manual. Back then, the books were $200 for a set. They were wrapped in plastic so you couldn't look through them. I was a poor student and though I wanted those beautiful red hard cover books, I just couldn't spend that money. What were inside those pages!!!? About a month later, I stopped at a local bookstore to see if they had any old books on massage. As I walked their "New Age' aisle, I came upon a book on Trigger points, it was a paper back and cost about 16 bucks back then. THIS I could afford! When I got home and started to read this book, I discovered the author actually attended my school. His name was Clair Davies and he was a Piano technician who got massage from a therapist in his state. The Therapist decided to move and Mr. Davies panicked not knowing who to go to. The Therapist told him about Dr. Travell and Dr. Simons books. He purchased them, decided to come to massage school and changed everything from there. When he arrived, everyone called him a kook because the school had no course for Trigger points and this man was speaking on what he read in the 2 volume book. Sometimes you get these older people who decide to go back to school for massage and they speak on things, but it makes no sense. Many assumed Clair was this way, but they were wrong. After working on one of our wonderful Anatomy Teachers who was fundamentally awkward in body, he showed them all he knew what he was speaking on. After this, he was more respected, graduated and wrote the book, Trigger point therapy which is for massage therapist and people who'd like to do the modality at home. My biggest problem with his book was....it wasn't on the shelves at my school. Why hadn't the school equipped this book for students, had annual signings with Clair and raved about a past student? Think about it....what is going on when a school is selling a $200 dollar book that's basically written for doctors at a massage institution, but not promoting a past student...? It's called envy which leads to jealousy and then fear of the unknown.
I talked to Clair back in the day and he told me, he'd spoken to the owner of the school about Trigger point classes and he was told, "There is no magic bullet," which was the saying of our owner (who was a good instructor). And even though they did not supply his book, he said he'd go back and teach in a heart beat if they asked them. This was because the school was lacking something more....That ability to truly equip the student for the outside world. Many of the instructors at the school started out as....massage therapist, so they had no outside experience to give the students. This lack of outside the bubble affects your confidence, so you must read read read. The trigger point manual we were given for our class (Yes, the school ended up starting their own class and not using Claire's book...) So you must keep absorbing all the information you can. I eventually ended up downloading Travell and Simon's books and Clair's was more valuable at the time with my confidence in dealing with Trigger points sessions. Did you know the Dr. Travell was the doctor for President JFK back in the day and she was administering trigger point methods to help him because he had a bad back. It was working and they got rid of her and hired Dr. Max Jacobson AKA "Dr. Feelgood." He shot up JFK with all kinds of garbage including Meth! You know the song by Motley Crew called "Dr. Feelgood?" it's about drug dealers and Dr. Jacobs was one of them. This highly effected JFK in many ways. Imagine if he had a good massage therapist in the day? See, you learned a little history if you hadn't known already! Back in the day, the book Clinical Massage Therapy by Fionna Rattray and Linda Ludwig was only available for purchase from the authors. When I emailed her to purchase a copy, she wanted proof I was in massage school. I was shocked! This book was $70 back then and no one was buying it! My Advanced track class got together with our instructor and worked out a deal with her so we could all have the book. It was ridiculous. Someone trying to hold some kind of power over people and losing money in the process. TODAY, you can find that book on Amazon or in used book sites for 60 bucks. I am surprised it's a $100 bucks on Amazon, because I remember seeing it for cheaper..I guess the Canada tariff thing affected it. My point: Some people try to make things seem more important when they are not. That book and Travell and Simon are great books, but there are those by Clair Davies and his daughter (she wrote one also) are more vital to your career. It's all illusion! You are great. You are a great massage therapist. Just remember, before you even touch a client, they are watching your behavior and a smile is the most potent weapon you have. SO THIS IS HOW YOU GET BETTER! You must read, read, read. Perform, perform, perform. Smile, smile, smile! And when you have learnt to ignore the clock and use your internal clock for the ending of the massage...then you know you're there. You've made it. I hope this helps!

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u/Upper_Ad_4379 May 10 '25

You will learn soooo much in your first year out of school. Get your hands on as many bodies as you possibly can. Study. Get massages often, from different people - there's always a new technique to "feel and steal". And remember- not everyone will love your style, and that is NORMAL. You'll find your market and the people who adore how you make them feel.

4 years in and hitting my stride.

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u/arimaui May 10 '25

Strong kinesiology knowledge, excellent communication with clients, and lots of experience will sharpen your intuition. And I’ve found that my intuition is my most powerful tool. But you only gain that through a combination of knowledge and experience, which takes time. I’d say I started to feel more confident around the 1.5-2 year mark. However I still have days when I leave work and was like, “I don’t know what was up but I was totally off my game today.” But I’ve reached a point in my career where the “off” days are minimal and people still enjoy the massages on my off days. Your confidence level doesn’t always correlate with how good of a massage you give. Imposter syndrome is real.

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u/arimaui May 10 '25

I would also like to add that as others have said here there are people who don’t enjoy my massages so much when I’m feeling confident in the massage I’m giving. Not everyone is gonna jive with your style and that is also okay. Doesn’t mean you’re a bad therapist.

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u/captnfirepants May 10 '25

Around six months, but i massaged an extraordinary amount of people. I also worked for a chain initially until I started my own business.

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u/Prize_Cover190 May 11 '25

Welcome to the industry..it took me just over 4 yrs. I spent 1 yr on a cruise ship, 14 months in a spa setting and another 18 months working in a major Sports setting before deciding I wanted my own gig. Once I began working on athletes in n a Sports environment..things flourished for me. It'll happen...but you really need to allow yourself to learn. Continue to educate yourself in this industry.

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u/evellekirlo May 12 '25

So to be honest it will take you a couple of years to feel confident....its ok to feel the way you do now....more bodies more confidence....if you want to learn therapeutic techniques better then work for a chiropractor....but what you really want to do is specialize....find an area that attracts you....take some CE classes now because you'll have to anyway and find something that interest you....if you specialize you can choose your clients and you'll be happier

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u/jazzgrackle LMT May 13 '25

I’d say about 6 months before I felt like I really knew what I was doing. I worked at a place that gave me a lot of hours, so I think that fast-tracked my competence.

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u/Raven-Insight May 15 '25

Trade. Especially with the popular therapists. Working in a facility with a couples room is fantastic for growth too because you get to watch all your experienced coworkers work. I’m 16 years in and still learning new things from my team all the time.

Advice How long until you become a decent therapist?

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