The Downeast School of Massage was established in for the purpose of training individuals in the health professional career field of Massage Therapy. DSM began with the founder-director, Nancy Dail, and four determined students. As the years have passed, the school has grown with its graduates and the profession. Although the program began with a strong core curriculum of Swedish Massage and related courses, additional courses and program shifts gradually developed, as the vision of the profession became reality.
The class of was the first to graduate from the new facility. Built with growth in mind, the passive solar building offers a spacious learning environment, as well as a library, supply and bookstore, student lounge, spa, and sauna. Students are able to stroll around the campus trails during breaks and off-hours, seasonally utilizing sneakers or skis. They even enjoy skating on the acre pond. January launched a new program start: students are now able to start in either September or January.
The September program has the widest variety of schedules, including part-time. The January program allows us to run through the summer months and comprises mostly day classes. Excluding guest speakers, currently, there are 11 instructors who teach a wide variety of courses and schedules to over 50 students.
The year began with new changes in our concentrations. The curriculum has been updated to reflect national trends. We have increased our clinic hours, and by popular demand added another Deep Tissue course. We have renamed our massage course to Therapeutic Massage to embrace other modalities besides Swedish. In the fall of , our 59th class began its journey toward mastering the art and science of massage therapy.
DSM is committed to expanding with the profession to offer its students as many opportunities in the field as possible. Since , Nancy Dail has promoted massage therapy in Maine, nationally, and internationally. In she was selected to work at the Olympic Village Sports Medicine Clinic, where she provided sports massage for athletes from all over the world. Faculty joins her in commitment to the field, as many are involved in outside professional endeavors and bring their enthusiasm to all classes.
