Spectrum in good hands

Learning the art of healing and compassion
is top priority BY PAM STEVENS | EDITOR In a sleepy corner of Lake Stevens behind the post office lies one of the best kept secrets in the world of massage therapy training.

The Spectrum Center School of Massage has been around since 1981 and in their current location since the fall of 1988.

Barbara Collins was one of the original owners who started the school with a partner over 26 years ago and it has grown to become one of the most successful massage schools in the state with 100 percent of their students passing the national exams on their first try last year and 98 percent passing on their first try for the past six years.

Collins also helped develop the standards for massage school curriculum in Washington State.

Now she is ready to pass the torch to former student, Julie Gross, LMP, who has been the school’s director for the past two years and will be taking over the reins as the new owner of Spectrum on July 1.

Gross became involved in the school 10 years ago after receiving massage treatment for a medical condition. Once she realized how massage therapy had helped her she wanted to learn more about it and turned to Spectrum. After graduating from the school in 1998, Gross started in the student clinic and soon had over 27 clinic clients within a four-month period.

“It’s just like family,” Gross said. “When I graduated I never left.”

The school boasts teachers and students from all over the country. Some students have even come from Canada to learn from Spectrum’s special kind of teaching.

Tricia Johnson-Fenter is one such student. She heard about Spectrum eight years ago when a friend attended the school.

Two years ago she broke her back and had low back fusion. She decided is would be a good time to become a student at Spectrum while she was healing.

“I really like the family oriented atmosphere and they were willing to work with my situation and help me make a career change,” Johnson-Fenter said.

Students are enrolled in small classes where they receive a higher level of one-on-one attention. It’s Spectrum’s objective to have each of their students succeed and leave the school with a positive experience and a career in massage therapy.

“If a student isn’t doing well, we feel it’s our fault, Everyone learns differently and we try to teach to them in a way that best suits them,” Gross said.

Students who graduate from the Spectrum Center are sought after aggressively as well.

“I have been employing massage therapists for over eight years and I have very high standards,” B.J. Erkan, LMP and owner of Bothell Integrated Health said. “There are some schools whose grads I will no longer waste my time interviewing. I find that Spectrum grads are more knowledgeable and have more expertise than many therapists who’ve worked for years in the field.”

Students leave Spectrum with a whole new outlook on life and many learn things about themselves that they never knew before.

“I have found a special ‘home away from home’ here at Spectrum,” Rebecca Carson, one of the graduating class of 2007 said. “My instructors have become a special part of my life.”

Gross is proud of the school and wants people to understand that they are not only there to teach students the techniques of massage therapy but to also teach them that compassion and heart-felt energy will carry them through an exciting and lucrative career in the health field and throughout their life in general.

If you want more information about Spectrum you can call 425-334-5409 or visit their website at www.spectrumschool.com.

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