City of Big Shoulder Rubs: Alternative Health Education in Chicago

For decades now, TV scriptwriters have portrayed health care practitioners as an exclusive club of white robe-clad, stethoscope-wielding superheroes. Whether the series features venerable white-haired figures like Dr. Marcus Welby (remember him?) or temperamental young colts like E.R.’s Dr. Carter, the drama will often revolve as much around the labyrinth of medical bureaucracy or the sudden malfunctioning of state-of-the-art equipment, as it will around the actual process of healing. Enter a new breed of health providers, offering a range of alternative and complementary approaches to the mainstream medical establishment, all of them with one common perspective: the body as an innately self-healing, fundamentally wise organism.

"Alternative"or "holistic" or "complementary" medicine is readily available in the Chicago area. And, according to Bob Chelnick, Administrative Director of the Midwest College of Oriental Medicine, "will continue to become more available and accessible as baby boomers age." What was once perceived as the practice of just an eccentric few in now a growing industry "with billions of dollars spent out of pocket on holistic health. What we are practicing is not 2nd century medicine, but wellness medicine for the 21st century."

The Chicago area offers myriad opportunities to train in these ancient, but new forms of health care. These schools offer professional training for students interested in careers in this growing industry.

Founded in 1979, The Midwest College of Oriental Medicine is one of the oldest acupuncture schools in the United States. Midwest College is the American affiliate of Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.

Midwest College has a student body of 240 spread between campuses in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood and in Racine, Wisconsin. Programs are offered in both acupuncture and in Oriental medicine. They offer an academic education dealing with both the scientific and social aspects of health care. The 4 academic year program can be completed in 36 months. The cost of the program is approximately $45,000. According to Chelnick, plenty of financial aid is available.

Students average 40 years of age and for most, Oriental medicine is a second or even third career. Many already work in a hospital setting. Others are leaving business careers.

Contrary to the popular views of "witchdoctor" or merely "intuitive" holistic practitioners, the schools offers rigorous curriculum and hands-on training opportunities.

Chelnick says that "a majority of graduates will start private practices or join small group practices. Only 15% end up in a hospital setting." He adds that "an entrepreneurial spirit, charisma as a healer, and strong decision-making skills are imports to success in the field." Midwest College offers a Practice Management course to aid new practitioners in their chosen field.

Midwest College of Oriental Medicine
4334 North Hazel, #206
Chicago, IL 60613
773-975-1295
www.acupuncture.edu


Based on a scenic 32-acre campus in west suburban Lombard, National University of Health Sciences offers two main courses of study: chiropractic and massage therapy. The Lombard facility was the first ever constructed exclusively for chiropractic education. According to Director of Communications, Ron Mensching, the school is exceptional in that they are the only one that requires a bachelors's degree for matriculation into the chiropractic program.

According to Mensching, the average age of the student body is 27 years. Currently 400 students are enrolled in the chiropractic program and more than 100 in the massage therapy program. Like traditional medical education, training at National is not cheap - the five academic year chiropractic program (which can be completed in three-and-a-half years) costs about $65,000. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual income in 2001 for chiropractors was $68,420. For the same year the median annual income for a massage therapist was $33,130.

National University of Health Sciences also enables the public to enjoy therapeutic massage by student interns at university clinics in Lombard, Woodridge, Chicago, and Aurora.

National University of Health Sciences
200 East Roosevelt Road
Lombard, Illinois
630-889-6532
www.nuhs.edu


Maybe going back to college is not for you. Another choice for learning alternative health techniques is Chuck Duff and Thai Massage Chicago. Actually based in north suburban Evanston, Duff, offers professional level training in the 2,500-year old field of Thai Massage.

Duff, who is also a practitioner of Thai Massage, came to the field following a 15-year career as an entrepreneur and technology innovator. He decided he'd :rather reduce stress than create it." He studied Hatha yoga, eastern philosophy, and Buddhism as a youth. As a yoga practitioner, Chuck found that Thai Massage treatments enhanced and accelerated his practice, allowing him to achieve more range of motion and minimize the effects of injury as well as normal aches and pains.

Rooted in Yoga and Ayurvedic medicine, as well as Buddhist meditation, Traditional Thai Massage, also known as Nuat Thai, Nuad Boran, or Thai Yoga Therapy, is a therapeutic bodywork technique that dates back thousands of years.

Thai Massage involves gentle stretching and pressure techniques, used to release held patterns and blockages in the body and to treat persistent pain. Being a strongly Buddhist tradition, the practice of Nuat Thai is a practical expression of compassion toward oneself and others.

Mr. Duff offers practitioner training. Level one courses are twenty hours and level two forty hours. Course prices are $350 for level one and $600 for level two. Both courses provide a certificate recognized by the International Thai Therapists Association (ITTA), NCBTMB, and ABMP.

Thai Massage Chicago
1019 Asbury Avenue
Evanston, Illinois 60202
847-869-1861
www.thaibodywork.com


Other places to study alternative, holistic, and complementary health:

The Soma Institute provides massage therapy training.

The Soma Institute
14 East Jackson Boulevard, Suite 1300
Chicago, Illinois 60604
312-939-2723
www.thesomainstitute.com


The Chicago School of Massage Therapy provides training in therapeutic massage and the natural healing arts.

Chicago School of Massage Therapy
2918 North Lincoln Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60657
773-477-9444
www.csmt.com


Chicago College of Healing Arts offers programs in Medicinal Herbalism, Massage Therapy, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Bodywork, and more.

Chicago College of Healing Arts
1622 West Devon Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60660
773-596-5012

This article originally appeared in the Fall 2003 issue of Chicago Learning Guide Magazine.