There are several different ways to approach continuing education when you are a professional massage therapist or bodyworker. Which approach you take to your next continuing education experience will depend on many factors, most of which are specific to you as a practitioner. However, it is possible to outline two of the main ways to go about getting continuing education in the most effective manner.
First, though, it may be necessary to define “most effective manner,” as this phrase is fairly subjective. For the purposes of this article, and in terms of taking continuing education classes, this means enrolling in those continuing education classes that will best serve you and your practice. This equates to choosing continuing education courses with such benefits as increased energy, renewed passion for your work, ability to draw and keep more clients, and a larger income.
Most professional massage therapists and bodyworkers would love to reap any one of these benefits from their continuing education classes. That is why it is important to approach the selection of each continuing education class in a strategic way, so that you have a better chance of walking away with one or more of these career-enhancing benefits.
The first method for selecting continuing education classes may be compared to going fishing or dipping one’s toes into the water. Basically, this approach toward continuing education aims to help practitioners discover new and potentially practice-boosting interests.
With this strategy, you are simply searching for any continuing education class that catches your interest. Then, you will want to make sure the class suits your budget and your schedule. If not, then you should look around a bit more for another continuing education course on this same topic—one that will allow you to explore this topic without breaking the bank or rearranging your whole schedule.
This way, if it turns out that the subject of the continuing education class did not resonate with you, you did not invest much in terms of money and time. However, if your “fishing expedition” winds up successful—if the topic of the continuing education class is one that excites you—then you can begin to invest more time and money into this area of expertise.
This brings us to the other approach toward continuing education for massage therapists and bodyworkers. This method might be compared to diving into the deep end or making a long-term commitment. Essentially, this way of taking continuing education courses allows the practitioner to increase his or her skills to the most advanced level, becoming an expert in the topic at hand.
Obviously, you want to be passionate and enthusiastic about the subject matter when you decide to dive in deep and commit to taking a whole range of continuing education classes on a topic. When you do feel confident that you have found a technique or modality you would like to explore to the fullest, then taking your continuing education classes in such a way can serve you and your practice quite well.