Amidst the daily bustle at Salt Lake Community College, there exists an unexpected source of relief: massage therapy.
In a time of relentless academic pressure, the availability of affordable massages at the college’s Center for Health and Counseling (CHC) isn’t just about relaxation – it’s a lifeline for students’ well-being. Holly Scholz, a massage therapist at the CHC, said massage visits can offer vital stress relief and promote overall health, especially as students juggle coursework and other responsibilities.
“A lot of people don’t realize that they have a lot of pain, stress and tension in their shoulders,” Scholz said. “Being a student, you’re always at your desk; you’re always typing. You’re always hunched over or tensed up when you have anxiety or any kind of mental health issue. Student life is stressful.”
The CHC holds a wide variety of events throughout the year, each working to spread awareness of key mental and physical wellness issues. This has helped to create a trend at the college of caring for students’ health.
In this vein, Scholz said massage therapy is not just a luxury. Instead, it is a vital resource for the SLCC community that offers a tangible means of relieving stress and supporting holistic wellness. Health promotion manager at the CHC, Whitney Ockey, said she believes in the importance of massage therapy in promoting mental and physical health among students.
“We approach massage therapy here with the mind and body in [consideration],” Ockey said. “We want students to know that it can be a component [of] mental and physical health.”
The CHC offers 50-minute massages for $30, a price significantly lower than what one might find at outside massage parlors. “Our massage center is funded through student fees,” Ockey said. “We [use] a portion of that to pay our massage therapists, but we’re not making a profit off of students. We’re just covering our costs.”
While the benefits of massage therapy are clear, Ockey said informing students of the service and getting them to come in remains a challenge.
“It’s no easy task to get the word out to students at 10 different campuses,” Ockey said. “And some of our students are [taking] evening-only and online-only classes. So, it is really challenging to share the message that we have these great services.”
To learn more about massages or the CHC in general, visit the center’s webpage.
