Mission Statement
The mission of the Florida School of Massage is to enhance the quality of life through the vehicles of touch and awareness.
Our Values
Respect
The FSM community holds respect as a cornerstone value. We are committed to mindful communication and compassionate touch with empathy and acceptance.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a commitment to cultivating self-awareness by exploring the qualities of our human experience.
By embracing our vulnerabilities and strengths we foster personal-growth and expand into a fuller range of being alive.
Empowerment
FSM encourages empowerment. Our community inspires students to realize their potential and skills. We support an individual’s self-discovery, passion, and learning process. This foundation enables our graduates to empower their clients to
participate in their own health and wellbeing.
Accountability
Accountability is the ability to self-reflect on the effects of one’s actions within the community. We want people who willingly commit to do the right thing and to take responsibility for it.
Integrity
We value integrity as an essential part of our community. This includes the ability to practice awareness, accountability, honesty and a clear sense of ethical boundaries.
Purpose and Philosophy
Over 2,000 years ago, Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, used massage extensively in the treatment of pain and disease. The science and art of massage have continued to expand and be a valuable tool in human wellness.
Massage promotes greater circulation, lymphatic flow and muscular relaxation, and can be valuable in reducing or eliminating musculoskeletal pain. Through the practice of massage we can also become aware of lifestyle and emotional patterns which may be causing or perpetuating painful or limiting ways of being. The Florida School of Massage (FSM) offers a variety of programs utilizing touch as a vehicle for awareness. At FSM, students learn to offer massage in a context of personal inquiry and empowerment. It is the exploration of this context on a variety of levels that is our major contribution to the field of massage. When we talk about massage as a vehicle for awareness, we mean this on many levels. The first level is the awareness of tension and where it exists in the body.
Second, through touch we can communicate how to let go of these habitual patterns of tension. At the third level of awareness the client and therapist can challenge the belief system around which the tension is organized. The therapist provides a safe place for clients to explore potentially threatening parts of their bodies and their selves, so that
they might choose to let go of unnecessary tension. Massage offers a unique possibility for personal empowerment seldom found elsewhere in the field of health care. Clients may potentially leave a massage with more awareness and more control of their bodies and their lives. To provide a safe space for our clients, it is essential that our work be nonviolent in nature and that the goals be the client’s rather than the therapist’s. We respect our client’s threshold of pain, both physical and emotional, exploring how we can be available as therapists without being intrusive. Massage therapists can be skillful facilitators, empowering and inviting clients to awareness. We strive to cultivate this context of awareness in all our basic and advanced programs, and to bring this perspective to the community- at-large through outreach programs that include working with such groups as cancer patients and their families, women recovering from domestic violence, the homeless, and the elders. We are happy that you are considering massage in your life. When offered in a caring, mutually respectful environment, we have found massage therapy to be a very nourishing practice that helps promote health, understanding, acceptance and peace.
History and Ownership
FSM has 50 years of experience providing massage education as a vehicle for personal growth and empowerment, cultivating compassionate touch in a nurturing community experience. The Florida School of Massage enrolled its first students in 1973. The American Institute of Natural Health, Inc. and the Florida School of Massage, Inc. merged their programs of massage therapy and allied holistic health training in September 1979. The merger of these two Gainesville schools produced a vocational training center with outstanding instructional faculty and equipment resources for expanded
and advanced programs of massage therapy and natural health care. The Florida Institute of Natural Health was formed in the summer of 1980 and during the next seven years a new and larger facility was developed and several new programs were added to the curriculum of the Florida School of Massage. In the spring of 1987 The Florida Institute of Somatic Health (FISH) was formed, becoming the owner-operator of the Florida School of Massage. In 2008, the corporate name of FISH was changed to Florida School of Massage. Upon the death of her husband Paul in July 2016, Josie Davenport became the sole owner of the Florida School of Massage, a chartered corporation.
Licensing and Accreditation
The Florida School of Massage is:
- Licensed by the Commission for Independent Education, Florida Department of Education (License 446). Additional information regarding this institution may be obtained by contacting the Commission at 325 W. Gaines St., Suite 1414, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400, toll-free phone number 888-224-6684;
- Approved by the Florida Board of Massage Therapy;
- Accredited by the Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation (COMTA). 5335 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Suite 440, Washington, DC 20015,
phone (202) 895-1518; - Approved to offer Title IV Federal
Financial Aid to eligible students; - Approved as a vocational training school by the State Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, the Florida Department of Veteran’s Affairs (for Veteran’s Training), and the Division of Blind Services;
- Approved by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service to enroll international students;
- A founding member of the Alliance for Massage Therapy Education (AFMTE), a school member of the Florida State
Massage Therapy Association (FSMTA), the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA), the Association of
Bodywork and Massage Professionals (ABMP) and a member of the Academic Consortium for Complementary and Alternative Health Care (ACCAHC); - Approved as a continuing education provider by the Florida Board of Massage Therapy.
Educational Objectives
There are many ways in which learning and growth take place. We focus on three areas—development of knowledge and
skills, professional preparation, and personal growth. Our intention is:
- To provide students with safe and supervised learning experiences which promote the health and well-being of themselves and their clients.
- To provide a thorough working knowledge of the structure and function of the human body, and the theory and practice of therapeutic massage modalities.
- To prepare students to become qualified massage therapists.
- To help students develop professional work habits.
- To help students understand their scope of practice and to help them develop appropriate referral skills.
- To model a professional attitude with a commitment to ethical practices toward clients and fellow practitioners.
Location and Facilities
The Florida School of Massage is located in Gainesville. This growing city is a dynamic college town with two large hospitals, a college of health-related programs at Santa Fe College, and the University of Florida’s Medical School and School of Veterinary Medicine. All possess extensive library facilities. Gainesville is a progressive city with many opportunities to explore spirituality, health and wellness. The city features many yoga, tai chi and meditation classes, two colleges of Oriental medicine, a traditional midwifery school, four health food stores, several health clubs, and numerous massage
therapists, psychotherapists, chiropractors and alternative health care practitioners. Gainesville also offers numerous churches and spiritual centers of every tradition. The city is close to the natural beauties of North Central Florida: state parks for hiking and camping, fresh cold water springs for tubing and canoeing, and several miles of developed hiking and biking trails. The school’s facilities occupy over 11,000 square feet of space, providing lecture rooms, practicum and exercise areas, private massage treatment rooms, a library and multimedia collection, offices, advisor meeting rooms, a sauna and whirlpool, and a sun deck. The school is conveniently located just south of the University of Florida in a wooded and open setting within four miles of the heart of the city and adjacent to Paynes Prairie State Preserve, a 21,000-acre wildlife sanctuary.
