Hands-on training for a hands-on career
From your first classes through to graduation, you will have hundreds of hours of practical experience, starting with your first few days in class. You’ll practice each new set of skills to build your confidence and then apply what you’ve learned during our supervised student clinics.
By graduation, you’ll have gained extensive practical experience and the confidence to take the next steps in your career.
Every hands-on learning opportunity at Vicars is designed to build on the last. From practicing with classmates to treating clients with complex needs, you’ll gradually develop the knowledge, skills, and professional judgment needed to provide safe, effective massage therapy.
Hands-on experience in the classroom
Your first “clients” will be your fellow students. It’s give-and-receive; you will pair up and practice what you have just been taught, with your instructor to guide you. After a few weeks you will be trading off competent relaxation massages, and that will become the best part of a busy day for both of you!
As your knowledge and skills grow, you’ll progress from relaxation massage to more advanced assessment and treatment techniques.
Your practical learning is guided by experienced instructors who provide feedback, answer questions, and help you develop safe, effective techniques.
Expect hands-on training every time you’re on campus—from Day 1. It’s a priority, so you can develop the skills and confidence you’ll need in professional practice.
In-class teaching clinics
Our in-class teaching clinics bring members of the public into the classroom.
Beginning in your first year, these clinics focus on the assessment and treatment techniques you’re learning at that stage of the program. You’ll start with relaxation massage and gradually progress to more advanced therapeutic approaches.
These structured clinical experiences provide opportunities for direct feedback, discussion, and reflection, helping you connect classroom learning with real client care.
Real-world experience with real clients
Beginning midway through your first year, you’ll start working with members of the public in our supervised student clinics.
Throughout the program, you’ll complete a minimum of 330 hours of direct, supervised clinical experience, applying your knowledge and developing your skills with real clients.
Our clinics are much more than work experience or job placement. At each clinic, an experienced clinic supervisor is there to give you support and direction. Our supervisors are valued members of faculty, and all are practicing RMTs. They present specific learning objectives tied to the curriculum, support your developing clinical judgment and create opportunities for students to ask questions and consult with them during each shift.
You’ll gain experience in:
- Conducting client interviews and assessments
- Developing individualized treatment plans
- Providing safe, effective massage treatments
- Maintaining accurate and professional client records
- Communicating with clients and providing appropriate self-care recommendations
- Developing the professionalism and time-management skills needed in clinical practice
- Working with clients of different ages, backgrounds, and healthcare needs will help prepare you for the variety of situations you'll encounter as a massage therapist.
Student clinics are scheduled outside regular classroom hours, with daytime and evening opportunities available. Clinic participation is a required part of the program.
Special conditions clinics
In your second year, you’ll have opportunities to work with clients who have more complex health conditions or specific treatment needs.
Our Special Conditions clinics provide experience assessing and treating clients with conditions such as fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, neurological disorders, orthopedic conditions, and brain or spinal cord injuries.
Under the guidance of experienced instructors, you’ll learn to adapt assessments, treatment plans, and massage techniques to meet each client’s individual needs, abilities, and goals.
These experiences help develop the clinical reasoning, adaptability, and client-centred approach essential to professional massage therapy practice.
Taking your massage skills on the road
To give you a chance to work under new conditions and with a different population (often athletes), the school regularly organizes outreach events in an off-campus setting. We are careful only to choose events that provide a learning opportunity for students and that contribute to the community in a positive way. For example, you’ll often see our students at charity and sports events.
Community outreach is a required component of both Year 1 and Year 2. These experiences complement your clinical education but do not count toward the minimum 330 hours of direct, supervised clinical experience required for graduation.
Outreach experiences introduce you to different populations, community organizations, and client needs, helping you build confidence, adaptability, and an understanding of the diverse ways massage therapy can support health and well-being.
The way the Vicars School curriculum works is that all the different elements—classroom, online, clinic—are fully integrated. The science you study online is preparation for understanding the skills taught in class; the techniques that are introduced and practiced in class are put to work in the clinic, with the guidance of the supervisors who tie it all together!
Yes. By the time you graduate, you will have experienced more than 330 hours of working with real clients in supervised clinics and also participated in special populations clinics and outreach events.
Let’s Connect
Our friendly and knowledgeable admissions advisors will help you decide for yourself if Vicars school is a good fit for you. No pressure, no hard sell. We are now filling classes for March and September 2027, but we are always ready to take your questions!
