Salt Lake Community College students can get free massages, allowing them to relieve tension and stress from their academic life while getting an introduction to massage therapy.
The Center for Health and Counseling hosts Massage Monday, a weekly tabling event where students can get free 10-minute chair massages from licensed massage therapists between classes.
Massage therapy and academic stress
“Stress lives in the body,” said Somer Jones, health promotion coordinator. “If we’re not maintaining that or ignoring any pains that we might have, that can metastasize and get worse.”
Jones, who hopes to increase awareness of CHC services, says massage therapy offers support for students experiencing stress.
“It allows you to practice mindfulness, have better coping skills, breathing through stress and great tactics that will carry into the rest of your day,” said Jones.
On top of common life stressors like finances, jobs and family, academic stress, can also affect students’ mental well-being.
According to a fall 2025 report by the National College Health Assessment, 76% of college students reported experiencing overall moderate or high levels of stress within the last 30 days.
“You can probably do better with test anxiety [after a message],” Jones said. “[And] have better overall energy to sustain all of the demands that come with being a student.”
Introduction to massage therapy
Massage Monday aims to educate students about the benefits of massage therapy and inform them of CHC’s massage services, which SLCC offers to students and employees at a lower price than other massage providers.
“The 10-minute free chair massage is a great introduction if you have never gotten a full hour massage,” Jones said. “If [students] enjoyed their massage, they can book a one-hour massage.”
Massage Mondays occur weekly from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Taylorsville Redwood Campus Student Center, located at STC 035.
