Message from the owner - Kris Stecker

Thank you for visiting our school web site to learn more about who we are. Having been involved in the massage and polarity therapy fields for over 20 years, I have seen incredible growth opportunities for massage and polarity therapists that have exceeded my expectations. It was always clear that massage and polarity therapy were vitally needed but communicating this to the public was challenging. Much of the growth has been due to the wonderful work done by the massage and polarity therapists that have graduated from this school over the years.

In the United States massage therapy was primarily related to the medical field to help people recover from injury. Runners, professional athletes, dancers and others learned that massage therapy was a critical component for their continued success. Physical therapists and chiropractors were early adopters of massage therapy as well. And finally some insurance companies started to accept that massage therapy would be beneficial for healing from certain accidents and diseases.

For years the massage and polarity therapy industries have tried to gain recognition in the eyes of the medical profession. However, doctors are trained to follow a tradition based on careful analysis and are often skeptical of new therapies. Consequently, massage and polarity therapy have been slow to be accepted by the medical profession. This is complicated further by the economics of the medical profession. Hospitals and doctors need to have solutions that have a high dollar return for a minimum of labor. Employing massage therapists is a labor intensive procedure with fairly low monetary returns by medical industry standards.

So how did massage and polarity therapy grow? During the last 20 years the levels of stress have increased exponentially. With computers, commuting, cell phones and the internet, the pace of life has accelerated, causing more stress and the problems that go with it. These include reduced performance, increased illness and more difficulty maintaining emotional stability. The proliferation of anxiety and depression related problems as well as immune system problems have left everyone vulnerable. In fact new studies now show a relationship between anxiety and Alzheimer's disease. And with the rate of change continuing to accelerate there is no reason to believe that the level of stress will ever become less.

The consumer, not wanting to be a slave to Prozac, Paxil, Welbutrin, Zoloft and other mood altering drugs, started looking for alternatives. The European and Asian alternative therapies as practiced in spas provided the model for massage and polarity therapy for stress reduction that the public was looking for. As reports started to come out about celebrities, politicians and business men and women receiving massage, the approach became more acceptable to the public. Massage therapy was no longer seen as something that was either for professional athletes or something done in massage parlors for sexual pleasure. It was now becoming main stream.

This change in massage therapy and polarity therapy was most evident in the area of the rise of day spas. The day spa industry grew by salon owners that started to recognize that by offering the additional services of massage therapy or polarity therapy, they could make their clients healthier and more beautiful while increasing the amount that was spent at the salon or day spa. The salon owners were also faced with the danger that if they did not offer massage therapy or polarity therapy and their client went to another day spa for this service, then they might lose that client to the day spa.

The most interesting part of the trend for salons to become day spas was that the economic dynamics of getting massage or polarity changed. Whereas in the medical setting people would typically not want to spend the money unless it was covered by insurance, the day spa client is already spending money to improve their appearance and adding a massage is a small step. The day spa client is also used to paying $30-$50 for having their hair cut, $50-$100 for a color, $25-$40 to do their nails and $20-$75 for various waxing techniques. Spending $60-$100 dollars for a high quality massage or polarity therapy session is right in line with what they are already spending. And because the stylists at the day spa are often excited about the massage or polarity, there is a natural word of mouth marketing campaign that helps people take the step into receiving sessions.

I have watched this trend develop over the years and have seen that many more people receive session in massage and polarity in day spas than in any other setting. This also set the framework for the growth of the large destination spa industry. The destination spa industry has grown rapidly in the past 5 years with billions of dollars of investment. With this huge investment, the world of massage therapy now has a powerful base for continued growth.

After observing these trends it was clear that there was a convergence occurring of the salon, spa and massage industries. To stay ahead of the curve, I formed Career Management Systems with the intention of creating a school that combines the salon, spa, massage and polarity disciplines. It has been a wonderful success for a number of reasons. First, the people attracted to cosmetology, massage and polarity share many similar desires to help people look and feel their best. Secondly, the educational maturity of the cosmetology profession combined with the educational innovation of the massage and polarity therapy professions have benefited both programs. And third, because our graduates have a better understanding of all aspects of the industry, they are better prepared to go into a professional day spa or destination spa setting and have the skills that are needed to succeed.

Spa Tech Institute™ was created to prepare people to be successful in the full range of settings for massage therapy, polarity therapy and cosmetology. Our massage therapy graduates are equally at home working with doctors, physical therapist, athletes, artists, day spas, salons and private massage clinics or personal professional practices. Spa Tech Institute's Polarity Therapy graduates are also equally skilled in all of the above mentioned settings but are also specifically well suited for working with mental health practitioners, artists and business people that are looking for more clarity, creativity and endurance. And our Cosmetology graduates in Portland, Maine are noted for their higher level of readiness to be productive with high end services in color and makeup as well as having excellent cutting and styling skills based on the Pivot Point International educational system.

In the last 3 years there has been another major development in the rise of skin care or esthetics. The significant scientific breakthroughs in products and techniques along with a huge baby boomer population that are now concerned about their appearance more than ever before, has created phenomenal opportunities for aestheticians. In keeping with the school's tradition of being on the leading edge, the Polarity Realization Institute Education Development Company that provides the massage and polarity therapy curricula for the school, developed a Holistic Aesthetician Program that is geared for the future of aesthetics. With the addition of aesthetics, the school is now the leading school in the country that provides a training in all the major spa modalities. Additionally, the esthetics curriculum is based on the same deep understanding of energy and touch as embodied in the massage and polarity therapy programs. This concept, as pioneered by PRI Education Development Company is called HumanHaptics™. This revolutionary concept infuses the aesthetician graduates with a technique that is unique in the industry and destined to become a future standard.

Spa Tech Institute is very excited about the programs that are offered and the quality of our graduates. We are also continuing to look towards the future to be an industry leader, not only in massage, polarity, aesthetics and cosmetology, but also in the career education field. We see the opportunity to train people for a meaningful and rewarding career as only one important part of what we do. We are also committed to prepare our graduates to be more successful in all aspects of their lives. To this end the programs are designed to help teach the communication and critical thinking skills needed to be successful. As a massage therapist, polarity therapist, aesthetician or cosmetologist, knowing the skills is only part of the formula for success. The other part is knowing how to communicate what you are doing as well as having the skills to continue to improve and raise the quality of your work.

I hope you are able to join our growing family of graduates that have been responsible for setting the industry standards to higher levels and drive the expansion of the field. As a graduate you will join an elite group of massage, polarity, aesthetics and cosmetology professionals that are among the most successful in the industry. Many teachers and directors of other massage and polarity therapy programs are graduates of the PRI programs, a fact that some schools do not publish because they are insecure about their new programs and don't want to let prospective students know that the source of their teaching staff is from another school in the area. Many of the cosmetology graduates work at or manage some of the most prestigious salons, day spas and destination spas in the industry.

Quality education in massage, polarity, aesthetics and cosmetology are at the heart of what we teach. The school recognizes that education is a precious opportunity to change a person's life for the better. This is a responsibility that we take seriously. Every student is important to us. We are committed to helping you realize your dream to become the best massage therapist, polarity therapist, aesthetician/skin care therapist or cosmetology/beautician possible. We are also passionate about helping you be fully prepared to work in a salon, clinic, hospital, day spa, destination spa or to start your own private practice.

I look forward to meeting you and helping you to fulfill your dreams.