Thai Massage Teacher Training Courses and Programs in the USA

Published: Sep 19, 2020 | Updated: Nov 17, 2021

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In this post, we’re going to take a look at Thai Massage Instructor training in the United States (USA). After Thailand, the U.S. is the country with the highest number of Thai Massage schools and practitioners, and it’s of course only logical that some of the schools or institutes also offer Thai Massage teacher training.

But first a bit of history. As from the mid 1980s of the former century Thai Massage grew rapidly in the USA, and in other Western countries, but until about the year 2000 or so, most practitioners i.e. therapists were actually trained in Thailand. Some of those therapists eventually started Thai Massage schools in their own countries and as from then we see a new generation of Thai Massage practitioners emerging who are trained outside of Thailand.

Again, some of the schools started teacher apprentice or Thai Massage teacher training programs. Now, mind well that being trained as a practitioner or instructor doesn’t automatically mean you can practice or teach Thai Massage legally in the US. In many US states, although not all states, you may first need to be an accredited i.e. officially licensed massage therapist, before you can even think about doing or teaching “Massage” or “Thai Massage.” Moreover, if you finally manage to legally teach Thai Massage, it could be that your license is only valid in one or in a few states.

Across the US, you will increasingly find extensive Thai Massage programs (500+ hours) designed to prepare students to become professional massage therapists and gain state licensure as a Certified Massage Therapist. The focus of these trainings is, of course, on Thai Massage or Thai Yoga Massage, and sometimes these programs will also give you the skills and practice to teach Thai Massage.

Nevertheless, in some states you will be able to teach without any license at all just by saying that you teach Thai Bodywork, Thai Yoga, Nuad Thai, or if you can prove that you have a certain number of years massage practitioner experience, and so on. It all depends, so this is really something one needs to check out diligently before enrolling for a training program.

And having finished a Thai Massage Instructor training doesn’t necessarily mean that the training courses you give afterwards have any legal value for your students, that is, for instance give rights to NCBTMB Continuing Education Units (CEUs). Legal accreditation of your Thai Massage courses is again another path.

Well, having said all that, below a selection of Thai Massage trainers in the USA that offer Thai Massage Instructor training courses.

Thai Massage Teacher Training Offerings

Blue Lotus Thai Healing Studies

COUNTRIES
USA (United States)
PLACES
Chicago, Illinois

Blue Lotus Thai Healing Studies in Chicago (aka Chicago School of Thai Massage) was founded by Paul Fowler and Paul Weitz. They follow and share the Pichest Boonthumme Thai Massage teac [ Read more ... ]

Bodhi Panya Institute

COUNTRIES
USA (United States)
PLACES
California, San Francisco

The Bodhi Panya Institute in San Francisco is specialized in Traditional Thai Massage training and runs a 500-hour Traditional Thai Massage California State licensed program. The variou [ Read more ... ]

Body Wise with Eleanor

COUNTRIES
USA (United States)
PLACES
Seattle, Washington (State)

Body Wise, founded by Eleanor Bramwell, offers Yoga and Thai Massage training classes. She also offers Thai Massage instructor training programs. [ Read more ... ]

Institute of Thai Massage USA

COUNTRIES
USA (United States)
PLACES
Marmora, New Jersey (State), Ocean City

ITM-USA is led by Rose Griscom, an ITM Chiang Mai affiliated Thai Massage instructor. Rose also offers private training and Thai Massage teacher training classes. ITM-USA organizes the [ Read more ... ]

New Jersey Massage

COUNTRIES
USA (United States)
PLACES
Parsippany, New Jersey (State)

New Jersey Massage is a Massage Therapy School in the State of New Jersey. The staff is trained in Medical, Sports, Swedish and Deep Tissue massage along with many other styles of thera [ Read more ... ]

Renew Wellness Holistic Institute

COUNTRIES
USA (United States)
PLACES
California, San Francisco

Renew Wellness Holistic Institute in San Francisco offers a range of spa training courses, including Thai Massage training modalities. [ Read more ... ]

Ritam Healing Arts

COUNTRIES
USA (United States)
PLACES
California, Colorado, Manitou Springs, Topanga

Ritam Healing Arts is founded and operated by Saul David Raye. Saul is a teacher, healer, musician & spiritual activist. He's proficient in a variety modalities, such as Hatha [ Read more ... ]

SomaVeda College of Natural Medicine | ONACS

COUNTRIES
USA (United States)
PLACES
Brooksville, Florida

The SomaVeda College of Natural Medicine (SCNM) offers college degrees in Natural Medicine and is part of an ensemble of organizations, institutes and websites created and maintained by [ Read more ... ]

Spirit Winds School of Thai Massage

COUNTRIES
Canada, USA (United States)
PLACES
California, Grass Valley

Spirit Winds School of Thai Massage in Grass Valley is founded and run by Janice Gagnon. Janice offers a variety of Thai Massage trainings in-class and has online videos as study tools. [ Read more ... ]

The Naga Center

COUNTRIES
USA (United States)
PLACES
Oregon, Portland (Oregon)

The Naga Center is based in Oregon, Portland. The school teaches Traditional Thai Medicine, Herbalism and Thai Massage and was founded by Nephyr Jacobsen. [ Read more ... ]

The Thai Yoga Center | SomaVeda Integrated Traditional Therapies

COUNTRIES
USA (United States)
PLACES
Brooksville, Florida

An ensemble of organizations, institutes and websites created and maintained by Dr. Anthony James operating under several names and “brands” like the International Thai Therapists A [ Read more ... ]