Cumberland Institute of Holistic Therapies opened in 1987, making it the oldest school teaching holistic therapeutic massage in the state of Tennessee.

With a reputation for excellent training in a broad spectrum of bodywork modalities, Cumberland graduates are avidly recruited by the top spas, medical and chiropractic clinics, and rehabilitation centers in Middle Tennessee, though most of our graduates choose to eventually establish a private practice.

Cumberland Institute has an excellent faculty and its rigorous academic and technical massage therapy training has given our graduates a very high pass rate for the state licensure exam.

Graduates applying for Tennessee state licensure are required to pass the state approved exam currently administered by the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards called the MBLEx. But more important is Cumberland’s 92% success rate, an indicator of how many graduates go on to establish a career in massage therapy within one year of graduation.

Although academic excellence and diversified technical massage therapy training are central to the educational mission, most students will probably tell you it is the caring emphasis on developing each individual student which really makes the Cumberland experience special.

Starting with their first courses and continuing throughout the training, students are encouraged to learn about themselves as they learn about massage therapy. They are guided to develop healthy balance in their work, financial and personal lives. Students’ unique gifts and interests are nurtured, with the aim of helping them ​develop a specialized career focus and their own unique niche in the marketplace.

Students are urged to stretch and grow beyond the limits of their fears, to build a solid foundation of ethical, professional behavior and values, and to feel the loving support of a community of mentors and peers, which will follow them into professional practice.