A massage school runs the long, state-registered programme that qualifies you to sit for a licence. A continuing education course is short training for someone who already holds that licence. They are different products, bought by different people, at different points in a career.
This matters because the words look almost identical in a search box. Someone types "massage classes NYC" and could mean either one. If you are standing at the beginning — no licence, no training, wondering how to start — you need a school. If you are already an LMT with a renewal date approaching, you need CE.
I am Sassy Prasertsri. I am a New York State Licensed Massage Therapist and an NCBTMB Approved Provider, #792. I trained at Wat Pho Thai Traditional Medical School in Bangkok and at the Thai Massage School of Chiang Mai. I teach Thai massage continuing education here in Midtown.
So let me be straight with you before you read another word. This studio is not a licensure school. We do not run a state-registered programme. We cannot get you licensed. If that is what you came for, keep reading anyway — the next section tells you exactly where to look instead. It is the useful answer, even though it points away from us.
New York requires you to complete a state-registered massage therapy programme, pass the New York State Massage Therapy examination and meet the state's other eligibility conditions. The New York State Education Department's Office of the Professions sets and publishes the current requirements, and it is the only source you should rely on.
The New York State Education Department, through its Office of the Professions and the State Board for Massage Therapy, licenses and regulates massage therapists in New York. That is the only body that can issue the licence. No private school, no national organisation, no studio — including this one — can issue or promise one.
The Office of the Professions is also explicit on a point people get wrong constantly: national certification does not authorise anyone to practise massage therapy in New York State. You need the New York licence or a limited permit. A national credential is a separate thing that sits alongside it.
A New York licensure programme is a substantial course of study, measured in hundreds of clock hours, with supervised hands-on practice and coursework that covers anatomy, physiology, pathology, hygiene and both Eastern and Western massage theory and technique. The exact hour and subject requirements are set by the Office of the Professions, so check its massage therapy licensing page for the current numbers before you choose a programme.
One detail worth knowing before you start shopping for a programme: only schools or institutes of massage therapy with programmes registered by the State Education Department may teach massage therapy to unlicensed people. That registration is the thing to check, not a glossy brochure or a rank in a listicle. If you hope to transfer hours from another school, ask the regulator how many will count.
You have to pass the New York State Massage Therapy examination. You apply for licensure first, pay the licensure fee, get your documents submitted and your education approved by the Education Department — then you may apply to sit the exam. The order matters, and people lose months by getting it backwards.
There are also routes for applicants with prior training or substantial out-of-state experience. If that is your situation, the Office of the Professions is the place to ask. Do not take a school's word for whether your hours will transfer. Ask the regulator.
A licensure programme gets you the right to practise; continuing education keeps that right current and adds skill to it. Here is the whole distinction in one place.
| Licensure programme | Continuing education (CE) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it is for | People with no massage licence who want to enter the profession | Therapists who already hold a licence and need to renew it or deepen their work |
| What it qualifies you to do | Sit for the New York State Massage Therapy examination and apply for licensure | Nothing new on its own — it maintains an existing licence and adds a technique to your practice |
| Typical length | A long-form programme measured in hundreds of clock hours, including supervised hands-on practice | Days, not years. Our courses run 5 days each |
| Who regulates or approves it | New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions — the programme must be state-registered | Courses must come from a sponsor approved by the State Education Department, in an approved subject area |
| What this studio offers | Nothing. We do not run one and cannot get you licensed | Two Thai massage CE courses, Part 1 and Part 2, 35 NCBTMB CE credits each |
New York requires licensed massage therapists to complete continuing education to re-register their licence. So CE credits are for people who already hold the licence. They are the maintenance requirement attached to it, not a route into the profession. The current number of hours and the re-registration cycle are published by the Office of the Professions, so check there for your own deadline.
For a course to count, the Office of the Professions says it must be administered by a sponsor approved by the State Education Department, in an approved subject area. Both conditions matter. A wonderful course from an unapproved sponsor does nothing for your re-registration.
Practical advice: keep your certificates. Each should name you, the course title, the hours completed, the provider and the date. When you re-register, that paperwork is what you have.
NCBTMB approved-provider status means the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork has reviewed an instructor's qualifications and course content and approved them to award CE hours under a specific, named course title. It is a review of the teacher and the curriculum — not a licence, and not automatic state acceptance.
To get it, a provider has to demonstrate mastery of the subject, meet instructor qualifications, submit full course documentation — title, description, learning objectives, outline — and show they have already taught the course to a group of at least five participants within the past year, with participant evaluations. It is a paperwork-heavy process, deliberately.
NCBTMB says approved-provider status is included in the continuing education requirements of several states. It also operates a separate New York sponsorship arrangement for its approved providers. My number is #792, and our CE classes are approved for New York State LMT licence renewal.
Still — and I would say this about any provider, including me — check it yourself. Before you pay for any CE course anywhere, confirm the sponsor appears on the State Education Department's approved sponsor list and that the subject area qualifies. It takes a few minutes. It protects your licence. We wrote more about that vetting process in how to choose a Thai massage CE course in NYC.
There are two courses. Part 1 covers face-up and side-lying techniques. Part 2 covers face-down and seated techniques. Each runs 5 days, costs $899.00, and carries 35 NCBTMB CE credits.
Part 1 — Face Up & Side Lying Techniques — is a 5-day course covering traditional Thai work with the client supine and on their side. $899.00, 35 NCBTMB CE credits. It is the foundation course, and it is where the sequence, the body mechanics and the rhythm of Thai massage get built.
Thai massage is done on a mat, with the client clothed. You use your hands, forearms, elbows, knees and feet. You use your body weight rather than your grip strength, which is why therapists with tired thumbs and sore wrists so often come to this work. Side-lying is also the position you will reach for with pregnant clients, larger bodies, and anyone who cannot lie flat comfortably.
Part 2 — Face-Down & Seated Techniques — is a 5-day course covering prone and seated Thai work. $899.00, 35 NCBTMB CE credits. Prone work opens up the back line, the hips and the shoulders. Seated work is the part therapists use most unexpectedly — it needs no table and no mat, and it transfers straight into chair and event settings.
Together the two parts give you a complete four-position practice. You can take Part 1 on its own. Most people who take Part 1 come back for Part 2.
Courses are held in Suite 2007 at 501 Fifth Avenue, and at least 5 members are needed for a course to begin — if the minimum is not met, you receive a full refund. Small groups are the point. Thai massage is taught hand-on-hand, and you cannot learn it from the back of a lecture hall.
Class details and current dates are on the Thai massage CE classes page. The studio is minutes from Bryant Park, Grand Central and Times Square.
These classes are for therapists who already hold a massage licence and want to add traditional Thai technique to their practice — or need CE credit toward renewal. They are not an entry point into the profession, and they are not a substitute for a licensure programme.
The people who get the most out of them tend to fall into a few groups. Therapists whose hands are wearing out and who want a modality that uses body weight instead. Therapists whose clients ask for stretching and mobility work. Therapists who want something distinct to offer. And therapists who simply have a renewal deadline and would rather spend those hours learning something they will actually use.
You do not need prior Thai massage experience. You need a licence and a willingness to work on the floor.
Go to the New York State Education Department's Office of the Professions website and start with the massage therapy licence requirements page. That is the authoritative source, and it is free. Everything else — school lists, forums, blogs like this one — is secondary.
From there, the sequence is roughly this. Confirm you meet the basic eligibility requirements listed by the Office of the Professions. Find a massage therapy programme registered by the State Education Department, since only registered programmes may teach massage therapy to unlicensed people. Complete the programme, including its supervised hands-on hours. Apply for licensure, pay the fee, get your education approved, then sit the New York State Massage Therapy examination.
It is a long road. I will not pretend otherwise. But once you are licensed, the door to this studio is open — and a good number of our CE students first found us years before they were eligible, then came back.
In the meantime, if you are curious what Thai massage actually feels like, the honest research method is to receive one. You can book a session on our Thai massage services page. Experiencing the work is a better way to decide whether you want to train in it than any description I can write.
No. Our CE classes do not lead to a licence and are not part of a licensure programme. They are continuing education for therapists who are already licensed. A New York licence comes only through a state-registered programme and the New York State Massage Therapy examination.
Each course carries 35 NCBTMB CE credits, 35 for Part 1 and 35 for Part 2. Both are approved for New York State LMT licence renewal. For the number of CE hours you need and your re-registration date, check with the New York State Education Department's Office of the Professions.
We recommend taking Part 1 first, because Part 2 builds on the body mechanics and sequencing taught there. If you have significant prior Thai massage training, contact us and we will talk it through honestly rather than just taking your money.
Each course is $899.00. Part 1 is $899.00 and Part 2 is $899.00, booked separately. Each runs 5 days. A course begins once at least 5 members have enrolled; if the minimum is not reached, you receive a full refund.
Come in comfortable clothing you can move, kneel and stretch in — Thai massage is done clothed, on a mat, and you will spend the days on the floor. Everything else is provided in Suite 2007. Reach out through our contact page if you have questions about a specific date.
I do. I am a New York State Licensed Massage Therapist and NCBTMB Approved Provider #792, trained at Wat Pho Thai Traditional Medical School in Bangkok and the Thai Massage School of Chiang Mai. Groups stay small so that I can put hands on your hands and correct what needs correcting. You can read more on our about page.
