Northeast’s Director of Massage Therapy is Fueled by Evidence and Experience
Meet Nicole Miller.
M.S., LMT, BCTMB®
Director of Massage Therapy program and assistant professor
Nicole Miller has spent the last 20 years helping people improve their health and wellness with massage therapy. She works with people from all walks of life – U.S. military veterans, the terminally ill, the young and the aging. And now Miller, an award-winning licensed massage therapist, is the new director of Northeast’s Massage Therapy program and will guide others as they also pursue careers in massage therapy.
Massage Brings New Beginning for Miller, Once Again.
Miller first turned to massage therapy when a sledding accident, at the age of 14, left one of her arms with limited function. Conventional methods weren’t working, so a friend suggested massage. It turned out to be a transformational experience.
“A few appointments with a talented and persistent therapist completely resolved the pain and restored the function of my arm,” Miller recalls of her first massage experience. “I transitioned from never having an interest in massage to including it in my regular healthcare routine.”
Miller became determined to pursue therapeutic massage as a career. Following on earlier undergraduate and master’s degrees in business management, she graduated from Onondaga School of Therapeutic Massage in 2004 with a license in massage therapy. Miller would later become an instructor at the school.
Nationally Recognized Massage Expertise.
Experienced in the fields of college development, higher education, continuing education and community health education, Miller has developed academic programs and post-graduate massage education and coursework on which she lectures nationally.
Most recently, she served as coordinator of integrative medicine and instructor at Crouse Hospital in Syracuse. In this capacity, she developed and implemented programs for patients living with obesity, cancer, heart disease, and depression, among other groups. In 2019, Miller received a National Humanitarian Award from the American Massage Therapy Association for her pro bono and volunteer work providing massage therapy services to people with barriers to access.
This is an exciting time for massage therapy. Our role in both wellness and healthcare is expanding; the time is perfect to start a new program that correlates with that expansion.
Questions with Northeast’s Massage Therapy Program Director Nicole Miller.
Why do you think the Massage Therapy program is a good fit for Northeast?
Northeast College of Health Sciences is perfectly positioned to add a program in massage therapy. Having a massage therapy program within a school dedicated to health sciences will ensure students receive the best health education experience possible and learn the best of professional practices. The facilities here are second to none compared to other programs and validate massage therapy as an integral part of health and wellness.
Can you tell us a little about the integrative nature of massage therapy in healthcare?
Massage therapy is a spectrum that offers experiences ranging from a stress break at a spa to scar tissue manipulation from a traumatic injury. Massage therapy supports all aspects of biopsychosocial health, and research supports a positive effect on mood, stress, pain, sleep function and more. Our program at Northeast will prepare students for all aspects of the spectrum so that they will be able to offer flexible and customized services for each client.
You’ve worked extensively with veterans. Will you be able to incorporate that into your work at Northeast?
Currently, the Veteran Administration’s Whole Health Program is the largest medical system in the nation to incorporate massage therapy into patient health services. The inclusion of massage therapy in the Whole Health Program has had a major impact on our field, both in terms of advocacy and learning. We are seeing other systems and programs starting to implement the same model of care. I hope to integrate my past work, content, and affiliations with our new program so that students will receive exceptional learning opportunities.
