Northwestern Health launches programs for chiropractors looking to expand care with massage, shiatsu certificates

The new programs bring Eastern medicine and Western biomedicine together in a robust curriculum, preparing students to practice integrative, whole-person care

Northwestern Health Sciences University (NWHSU), the evidence-based integrative health university in Bloomington, Minn., announces two new certificates in its massage therapy program: East-West Therapeutic Massage and Shiatsu. The programs were created in collaboration with Cari Pelava, founder and former co-director of Centerpoint Massage and Shiatsu Therapy School. NWHSU is the only massage program in Minnesota to offer both an Eastern and Western approach to bodywork.

The rigorous massage therapy program at NWHSU prepares graduates for rewarding careers providing non-pharmacological care as important members of integrative healthcare teams. The East-West Therapeutic Massage Certificate includes all the courses in the Therapeutic Massage Certificate program — NWHSU’s most popular massage therapy program — along with six additional courses in Shiatsu.

“At NWHSU, our programs are designed to prepare the next generation of providers to treat medical conditions within a collaborative health care team,” explained Spring Saldana, massage therapy program chair at NWHSU. “We are proud to offer these new certificates that close that gap in Eastern-based bodywork education and build upon the important work at Centerpoint by bringing it into our robust, anatomy-based massage therapy programs.”

NWHSU will also offer a Shiatsu certificate, created for practicing massage therapists who want to add Eastern medicine to their toolbox.

“We’ve heard from a lot of alumni and current students that they’re interested in adding Shiatsu to their practice,” said Saldana. “We want to equip our graduates with as many tools as possible to make the greatest impact on the lives of their patients and clients.”

“I’m thrilled to support the development of NWHSU’s East-West and Shiatsu programs, a school committed to integrative care,” said Pelava. “These new certificates that include Shiatsu education will give students a new way of looking at the body through a truly holistic lens.”

For more information or to apply to the certificates visit: https://www.nwhealth.edu/academics/school-of-massage-therapy/