Course Syllabus

Our syllabus fully complies with the guidelines set out by the General Council for Massage Therapies, the regulatory body established to make sure that students receive the quality of training necessary to meet the standards required to set themselves up as professional therapists.
 
Supervised or contact education and training amounts to 160 hours spread over approximately 18 months. Topics covered include:
 
  • The holistic approach, including an understanding of how environmental factors, diet & nutrition, emotional and spiritual factors influence our health.
  • Stress & its many ramifications and effects on the body and mind.
  • Self-care and personal growth & development; getting to know one’s own body & recognizing areas which need attention.
  • Full range of practical massage techniques for all body areas; client care; good body use.
  • Case studies; client handling; listening skills; taking a case history.
  • Assessing and recording treatments; aftercare; reactions to treatment; the healing crisis.
  • Client confidentiality and record keeping.
  • Contraindications to massage; when to seek GP advice; when to suggest other alternative treatments.
  • Understanding of other complementary therapies.
  • Anatomy & physiology of all the main human systems of life and how they are integrated and maintained.
  • Pathologies of the same.
  • Health & safety in the workplace.
  • Oxford First Aid Training Emergency First Aid at Work Certificate.
  • Setting up a treatment room.
  • Health & safety.
  • Marketing & business awareness.
  • Ethics and good practice.

Understanding what it is like to receive massage is an important part of the course, therefore students are required to receive four treatments from qualified graduates of the Oxford School of Massage and must pay for these treatments themselves.

The students are also required to complete 36 case study treatments. 16 of these case studies take place during the academic year and are checked and assessed internally, the remaining 20 take place after the students have completed all other modules of the course and are assessed by an external examiner. Extensive support and help is given while completing these. It is valuable experience for students to work in a continuing, real, situation with clients of different types and with different concerns. To achieve this end students can undertake their external case studies at the Oxford School of Massage Clinic where their treatments will be supervised by a school tutor.

Students are given until the following March to complete their case studies. They must then come back in April to sit their final examinations.

On completion of the case studies and final examinations students are awarded our Holistic & Therapeutic Massage Diploma. They can then undertake a further 60 clinical hours of supervised massage in order to obtain our Masters Diploma in Holistic & Therapeutic Massage. Graduates will be renumerated during this period.

An individual progress assessment with the principal is generally scheduled about midway through the course with additional follow-ups, should they be needed.
 
In addition to the above hours, students should be fully aware that considerable home study is required. The hours required will be determined by the student's ability and commitment, but are unlikely to be less than 7-8 hours a week for the duration of the course.
 
osm ..... hands for health