At NLSSM you can train at a level 5 without having to do levels 3 & 4!
In the beginning… there was only one level, 3. It was a very in-depth course that covered the information and skills you needed to do the job. As the profession evolved so did the need for a greater depth of knowledge and hands on skills. In order to make this distinction some providers introduced different levels, this did not necessarily benefit the profession, and it certainly added confusion to those trying to navigate how to become employable in an area that interested them.
NLSSM has kept true to the requirements of the job, covering the skills and academic understanding simultaneously so you are able to work top in your profession. We do not believe it is beneficial for the profession to tease out skills and assign them to different levels, hence, the delivery of the course takes you right from the beginning to the end in one course to include a more advanced professional skill set. We do not separate the hands-on skills from the academic understanding, so you can work at a high level within your profession from the day you graduate.
While under some circumstances, starting off with a basic course can provide you with enough information to help you make a decision about whether this is the right career for you, yet it can be both expensive and an ineffective use of your time.
We believe from the word ‘get go’ that you learn touch and decision-making processes at the highest level. An example of this could be teaching some basic massage skills, without the understanding or asking the right questions about what it is you’re touching and why you are doing it, this lack of curiosity is stunting the growth of the hands-on skills of the therapist and they end up becoming the typical dime a dozen therapist who just push skin, moves things around thoughtlessly, not able to respond to what they are feeling because they have such limited knowledge and they are responding to a routine. If you know this is not you then read further.
In a level 5 course at NLSSM we teach our therapists from the first time they touch someone to question, to be curious, to feel, to notice differences, similarities. In this way you’ll be developing your hands on skills such that in the future you will not have to unlearn things, you will not waste time and have to take advanced courses to learn how to feel and understand what is under your hands. It really is about teaching you to learn a skill by showing you how much more information you can gain from having a mindful touch.
One of the basic skills you learn in massage is effleurage, this can be one of the greatest palpation tools a therapist can have but if the sense of feel is not instilled from the beginning you will miss out on developing essential skills of sensitivity. It is important that you learn to see and assess with your hands, the more information you can gather using your palpatory skills, the more likely you will have a successful business.
As you might have already gathered, we do not teach routines, we develop your hands-on skills to respond to the condition of the tissue, thereby you will recognize when a client needs a bit more attention in a particular area, or it might be requiring you to slow down, you will also be able to recognize when it might be advantageous to try some other techniques to encourage softening or relaxation, and/or to change its behaviour. This is about successful outcomes, leading to a robust business and meeting the needs of your client. This philosophy of ‘performance versus responding to’ the tissue is the difference between a busy practice and one that struggles to get the returns.
The question we get all the time, or more accurately, a statement, ‘your course is so expensive!’ Actually, it is not, when you consider the time spent training, and the cost, you come out in a win win situation graduating with the highest qualification in our profession from the beginning.
Please feel free to give us a shout to discuss your needs and to answer any questions. If one of the reasons you are hesitating is because of cost we do have a monthly standing order plan you can opt in to.
If you would like to get an idea of what the diploma course will involve, then have a look at our one-day Introduction to Massage course here.
