Q: If I want to do energy healing professionally, should I become a massage therapist?

A:  I believe I have an informed opinion on this topic, and I strongly suggest that YES, it would benefit you greatly to study massage therapy and get licensed in the field.

Also, check the local laws where you live to see if you need a license of some kind to charge money for energy healing services.  For example, in Alaska Energy Healing is exempt (you don’t need a license) for “light touch/no touch”.

This means you can place your hands on a person, but may not use pressure or movement, which can be quite limiting compared to the range of techniques you can use with a massage license.  The difference is night and day.

My Story

On a personal note, back in the 90’s I wanted to do energy healing as my job.  At that time, you needed a professional health care license of some kind to charge money for doing any kind of energy healing, so as I looked at my options, Massage Therapy was a top choice.  I spent a year at our local university, graduated, and got licensed.

I had never even considered doing massage before, yet after learning it I’m so glad I did because not only does massage blend perfectly with energy healing, it opens an entire world as to what you can do with combining them both. This is one of the best choices I have ever made!

These are just some of the things that Massage Therapy teaches you how to do:

  • Touch with confidence, care, modestly, and safely
  • Physiology – how the human body works
  • Pathology – how to think about disease, plus all kinds of cautions and contraindications and HOW to form a valid thought process for treatment, how to do research
  • You learn A LOT about pain, pain relief, and how people think about pain
  • How to formulate a professional 30, 60, or 90-minute session
  • How to do an appropriate intake
  • How to keep session notes that are professional and track progress
  • Ethics – Ethical situations are a HUGE issue in energy healing for people who are not trained.  I actually teach a whole class on Ethics For Energy Healing.
  • You learn about dealing with an emotional release, how to hold space, and if your massage school does QiGong you even cultivate a healing presence.
  • Over time and with experience, massage teaches you how to “see” and “sense” with your hands.  This skill alone improves any style of energy healing.

Bottom Line

I’ve seen a lot of people who want to do energy healing work, and just don’t have professional training in dealing with clients in a clinical setting.  This might work ok as a hobby, but it probably won’t pay your rent.

Massage Therapy not only gives you legitimacy via a professional health care license, it provides the knowledge and skill you need to work with people who come to you with an issue they are paying you to help resolve.

I absolutely love my work, and I cannot express enough how much I appreciate my background in Massage Therapy.  Looking back, I cannot imagine doing Energy Healing work without massage.

~ Cynthia McMullen
Licensed Massage Therapist
Certified Medical QiGong Therapist

Looking for an excellent massage school?  We do QiGong and include an entire section of Medical QiGong Energy Healing.  See:  Alaska Institute of Oriental Medicine, Acupuncture & Massage Therapy