Build a Life of Healing, Freedom, and Service With A Massage Therapy Career in Springfield Missouri
A massage therapy career offers a unique combination of meaningful work, flexibility, continued learning, and the opportunity to build a professional path that fits your life. At A Gathering Place Massage Therapy School in Springfield Missouri, our goal is not simply to teach massage techniques, but to help our students become confident, compassionate, well-prepared massage therapists who can build sustainable massage therapy careers serving others.
- A massage therapy career offers flexibility. Massage therapists can work in spas, wellness centers, healthcare settings, resorts, private practices, mobile massage, and many other environments. With many therapists working part time or becoming self-employed, our profession can provide opportunities to create a schedule that fits your life and goals.
- There are many directions your massage therapy career can take. Massage therapists can continue learning throughout their massage therapy careers and explore specialties such as therapeutic massage, sports massage, prenatal massage, deep tissue techniques, myofascial work, stretching and mobility, and other approaches.
- Massage therapy career longevity starts with learning how to care for yourself. Proper body mechanics, healthy boundaries, workload management, recovery, and therapist self-care can all play an important role in building a sustainable massage therapy career.
- Our students begin hands-on learning from the very first week. Our massage therapy school combines a hybrid, interactive curriculum with meaningful in-person instruction, practical experience, feedback, and a supportive small-group learning environment.
- Our program prepares students for both the MBLEx and professional practice. With a 99% first-attempt MBLEx pass rate, our program is designed to help students understand and apply what they are learning so they can approach the licensing process with confidence.
- Demand for massage therapists is projected to grow. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects massage therapist employment to grow 15% from 2024 to 2034, with approximately 24,700 openings projected each year during that period.
- Massage therapy is a profession centered on helping people. Massage therapists have opportunities to support clients seeking relaxation, stress relief, pain management, improved wellness, or simply time to slow down and care for themselves.
- Our massage therapy school is focused on developing local therapists who can strengthen the local wellness community. Through locally led instruction, small-group learning, and a strong sense of community, our massage therapy school is investing in future massage therapists, business owners, wellness professionals, and leaders.
Whether you’re looking for more meaningful work, greater flexibility, a future in holistic wellness, or the opportunity to someday build a business of your own, a massage therapy career opens the door to many different paths.
Let’s look at each of these main points in more detail.
A Massage Therapy Career Helps People Feel Better
What if your career allowed you to help people feel better, create a schedule that works for your life, continue learning for years to come, while building something of your very own?
These are the opportunities that are available in a massage therapy career.
Our community-based massage therapy school exists because we believe the future of massage therapy begins by investing in the therapist.
We aren’t simply interested in helping our students complete their program. We want to develop knowledgeable, confident, compassionate, holistic massage therapists who are prepared to serve their communities.
Massage therapists who can build successful massage therapy careers that can support them for years to come.
A Career Built Around People And Your Life
A massage therapy career offers something increasingly valuable: choice and flexibility.
Massage therapists can build their massage therapy careers in spas, wellness centers, chiropractic and healthcare offices, fitness environments, resorts, private practices, mobile massage, and many other settings.
Some massage therapists choose employment and the stability of working with an established organization. Others dream of opening their own practice. Many combine the two.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 42% of massage therapists were self-employed in 2024, and part-time work is common in the profession.
There isn’t only one correct way to be a massage therapist.
Because massage is typically appointment-based, schedules can vary considerably—giving massage therapists opportunities to create careers that fit different seasons of life.
That freedom can mean building your schedule around your family, pursuing another passion alongside massage, working for an established wellness business, becoming an entrepreneur, or eventually creating a practice that reflects your own philosophy of care.
There Isn’t Just One Kind of Massage Therapy Career
One of the things that makes this profession so exciting is how much room there is to grow.
Massage therapists can continue their education throughout their careers and explore modalities and specialties that resonate with them.
Depending on training, scope of practice, and state requirements, a massage therapist’s professional journey might include relaxation massage, therapeutic massage, deep tissue techniques, sports massage, prenatal massage, myofascial approaches, stretching and mobility work, trigger-point techniques, lymphatic-focused work, and many other specialized approaches.
Your initial massage therapy education doesn’t have to define the limits of your career. It can become the foundation from which you discover what kind of massage therapist you want to be.
We Believe Longevity Starts in Our Massage Therapy School
Massage therapy is physical work, and longevity in this profession requires more than knowing different massage therapy techniques.
It also requires learning how to care for yourself.
That’s why optimal self-care is an important part of our massage therapy program. Our students learn to think about their own body mechanics, boundaries, workload, recovery, and sustainable ways of practicing.
This isn’t just our philosophy. It reflects the realities of the profession.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that massage therapists can reduce the risks associated with physically demanding work through strategies including proper body mechanics, appropriately spacing sessions, exercise, and receiving massage themselves.
We want our massage therapy school graduates to be thinking about their 20th year in massage therapy, not simply their first.
Hands-On From Week One
Massage therapy cannot be learned by watching a screen alone. You have to practice.
You have to develop your touch, learn to communicate with the person on your table, understand how bodies differ, become comfortable adapting techniques, and gradually develop confidence in your own hands.
That’s why our massage therapy students begin gaining hands-on experience from the very first week of class.
Our program combines a hybrid, interactive curriculum with meaningful in-person learning and practical application.
Students have opportunities to study concepts in flexible ways while still receiving the hands-on instruction, feedback, interaction, and community that are so important in massage education.
And because we intentionally learn in a small-group environment, students aren’t just another face in a large classroom.
We learn together. We practice together. We ask questions. We encourage one another.
And we have a lot of fun while we’re doing it.
There is something special about watching a small group of students arrive on their first day unsure of themselves and then seeing those same students grow into capable future massage therapists who trust their knowledge and their hands.
Preparing Students for the MBLEx and the Profession Beyond It
Graduation is an important milestone, but becoming prepared for professional practice matters just as much.
We are incredibly proud that our program has achieved a 99% first-attempt pass rate on the MBLEx.
That number represents more than test preparation. To us, it reflects the commitment of our students, the effectiveness of an interactive curriculum, and an educational environment designed to help our students understand and apply what they’re learning.
Our goal is to help students walk toward the licensing process feeling prepared—not intimidated.
Massage Therapy Careers Are Growing
There is a lot of encouraging news for people considering a massage therapy career.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment for massage therapists to grow 15% between 2024 and 2034, compared with approximately 3% growth across all occupations. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects about 24,700 massage therapist openings each year, on average, during that decade.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics also reports that massage therapists held approximately 168,000 jobs in 2024 and had a median annual wage of $57,950 in May 2024, although individual income can vary considerably depending on location, schedule, setting, experience, clientele, and whether a therapist is self-employed.
Why the growth?
People are increasingly seeking massage not only for relaxation, but as part of their overall approach to health and well-being.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics specifically points to continued demand for massage services as more people seek massage for stress relief, relaxation, pain management, and overall wellness.
A Profession of Service
Statistics can tell us where a profession is heading, but they can’t fully explain why so many people fall in love with this work.
A massage therapy career is ultimately a path of service.
You may work with someone who hasn’t felt comfortable in their body for months. Someone carrying the physical effects of a stressful season. An athlete trying to continue doing what they love.
A parent who rarely takes an hour for themselves. Someone simply needing a safe, professional space where they can slow down.
As a massage therapist, you have the privilege of meeting people where they are and using your education, presence, and hands to support them.
You may never know the full impact of that hour. But your clients will.
That’s what makes this profession different. Your work is deeply human.
Local People Investing in Local Massage Therapists
Our school is rooted in the community we hope our graduates will eventually serve.
Our Springfield program is a small business led locally by massage therapist Jaclyn Kohler-Brake, owner of Awaken Healing and Massage, with the advisement of Cindy Goodnetter, owner and Branch Director from the St Louis main campus.
That local connection matters to us.
We’re interested in more than just creating an educational experience. We want to invest in people who someday will become fellow massage therapists, business owners, wellness professionals, collaborators, mentors, and leaders right here in our community.
When local massage therapists educate future local massage therapists, we’re doing more than just filling seats in a classroom. We’re strengthening the wellness community around us.
Could A Massage Therapy Career Be Your Next Chapter?
Have you been searching for work that feels more meaningful? Maybe you’re ready for a career with greater flexibility.
Maybe you’ve always been drawn to holistic wellness. Or maybe you’d love to have your own business someday.
Maybe you’ve experienced the difference an incredible massage therapist made in your own life and thought, “I would love to do that for someone else”.
You don’t need to have your entire career mapped out before you begin. You simply need somewhere to start.
Our small-group, hybrid and interactive massage therapy program combines education with hands-on experience beginning in week one, preparation for the MBLEx, an emphasis on therapist self-care and career longevity, and a community that believes learning can be challenging, meaningful—and genuinely fun.
We aren’t only training our students to give massages. We’re investing in the next generation of holistic massage therapists—and the people they’ll serve for years to come.
For anyone who feels drawn to this kind of work, now may be the right time to learn more.
Reaching out to request our full school catalog, ask questions, or schedule a visit can be the first step toward a career that truly matters.
Call us at 417-459-2820 to speak with our team or email us at [email protected] to request more information or schedule a tour.