National Holistic Institute - Emeryville Massage School — Local services in Emeryville

This review pertains to my time at NHI Emeryville as a core program student from October 2022 - June 2023

The good: -Most of the instructors / staff here are excellent. -The instructors and students come from a diverse range of ages and backgrounds, lending to a learning environment that offers varied perspectives. -You will learn the basics of the massage industry and how to be professional in the massage world.

The bad: -Ridiculously expensive. The $16k 800 hour program will get you your CAMTC certification, which you need to practice in CA. However, you do NOT need 800 hours to certify, you only need 500! -Upper management does not care about students’ experiences or health. So many of the following issues were brought up to the school, but it was clear that there is no real interest in listening to students. -Older staff are culturally insensitive, unwilling to adapt, and uneducated in recent societal developments. Racist comments and sexual jokes have been made multiple times by both instructors and upper management, with no apology. No education on gender, and thus students were constantly being misgendered by staff and other students; no education on trans or gender non-conforming individuals, which is such a disservice to those communities and their ability to receive bodywork in a safe space -Instructors are underpaid at $40-45k, coming out to around $20/hr (below the living wage for CA). They often work overtime and it is unclear if they are paid for that. This is probably why there was also such a huge turnover rate. Meanwhile, the owners of the school reside in multi-million dollar homes and have literally stated that they bought NHI as a business investment, seeing a lot of potential revenue from the high tuition -The curriculum is outdated and sparse in information. They withhold info as a way to sell the Advanced Neuromuscular Therapy (ANMT) program which one can take after completing the core program. When a student asked a question about anything more specific than surface anatomy, we were told that we need to sign up for the ANMT program for the answer. -Severe lack of knowledge from the instructors in the Eastern segment. Many questions were met with “I don’t know, I never actually learned about this myself.” Luckily, I had a classmate who had studied Traditional Chinese Medicine and they were able to educate all of us. I learned more from my classmate than the instructors. -Clinic and externship are exploitative practices. Students perform massages for free while clients still have to pay the school. This practicum concept--performing work for free until one is licensed by an arbitrary powerful entity--exists in many fields, such as social work, medical practices, teaching, and therapy, and is based on an outdated and unjust model that conflates free labor with education. -Too many hours crammed into 8 months. I was lucky to get a week off for the end of December, but other groups don’t receive any breaks throughout the entire program. The 8 hour clinic day is mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausting. -General disorganization. They constantly messed up our attendance hours; once, due to a clerical error, a classmate of mine was almost kicked out for not having enough clinic hours. ---Other classmates experience months of delay in approval of their externship sites, forcing them to make up hours later at their inconvenience. -Online classes were unengaging and made it very difficult to learn kinesiology (the study of movement). Many of my classmates struggled greatly because there was no in-person teaching of the different movements, muscles, and bones.

After hearing my feedback, the parting words from the school to me were "We would love to educate you on why we do things the way we do." No signs of actually listening and making change.

From what I’ve heard from others, McKinnon sounds like a great alternative. They don’t try to sell you anything and you can sign up for the classes you’re interested in, and are not required to...

It was early in the pandemic that I decided to attend NHI. Everything was online at that point, and honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect from learning a hands on modality without a hands on experience. But, I can tell you with a full heart, that it was the BEST choice I could have made, and my experience went above and beyond anything I could have expected.

Each and every teacher gave 110% to help us digest the content, and get a deep understanding for both the physical techniques and the intention behind the techniques that turn the mechanical into something truly holistic and healing.

Towards the end of my core program, we did get to begin in person classes. Getting to actually feel through my own hands and experience through receiving touch brings a greater depth of understanding, and there’s nothing like connecting with your peers in person to bring the content to life. But, the passion that came across even through the virtual classes speaks volumes to the expertise of the teaching staff.

Shout out to Frankie, Mentor to group 16, who was gifted at taking the physical content and painting it in shades that each student could understand. I say that because I witnessed him respond to the many questions with equal enthusiasm and care, utilizing language that brought potent clarity. He set a tone of kindness, compassion, depth and passion. Shout out to all of our amazing teachers who were ready to give extra time (Sabrina), clarify in different ways so that everyone would grasp the concepts. If you can’t tell, I was so moved by all of our teachers. Their words, wisdom and respect for the art, are with me as I work, with each and every client.

If you are considering NHI, I say go for it, you’ll be happy you did.

Thank you, you wonderful and beautiful beings at...

As an NHI emeryville Alumni, I still think about my experience there and am glad I chose to attend their core program. It has been a few years since graduating (June ‘19) and I can’t say enough of how amazing the mentors are.

Frankie has made a great impression on me and I will say that if it weren’t for being given a second chance to start over with a new group (group 16), I wouldn’t have finished the program. I hope Frankie is still teaching and that his students know how lucky they are to have him as their main mentor!

I enjoyed learning in class, especially because of being in a group setting where you really had to work closely with almost everyone, as well as, a mix of days where we just focus on the business or health aspects in the field.

I love the culture, it is a very warm and welcoming environment. The core program enables you to have many tools to use in your growing career as a massage therapist. I must add that since I have been practicing massage out of the state of CA and currently in Idaho, the eastern segment truly sets me apart from others who have not had training in this area.

My advice to new or prospective students is to take advantage of every opportunity to learn, practice, and hone your skills - it is very much on how you use your time, resources, and education to its fullest! I wish I had been more present during my time, however, massage is an ever changing and a creative career. There are always opportunities to improve and add more to your craft!

If I were still living in the Bay Area, it wouldn’t surprise me if I had decided to return to NHI as an aide or perhaps become a mentor myself. Thank you NHI for helping me find work I love! I definitely do not regret choosing NHI over McKinnon...