Further Information
Hands on Trauma
I hear more and more craniosacral therapists say that they specialize in treating trauma. And we certainly make a unique contribution to that field. In the last thirty years or so there has been a revolution in the understanding of the neurobiology of trauma and powerful new treatment methodologies have followed. The frontrunners are sticking to Peter Levine’s essence statement ‘Trauma is treated in the body not the mind’.
That’s where we come in. A major feature of trauma physiology is autonomic dysregulation. All the things that the ANS controls go haywire – sleep, digestion, temperature regulation, immune response, blood pressure, heart rate and sufficient oxygen supply to the brain to maintain attention and cognitive function.
With our outstanding palpation skills, we can detect altered function in the major autonomic centres like the cardiac plexus or the prevertebral ganglia, the crucial Vagus nerve, and the brainstem. And with our therapeutic touch we can restore primary respiratory function in these neural tissues. With touch we are healing trauma from the bottom up, from the body to the brain, along the gut-brain and the heart-brain axes. And we should be shouting from the rooftops about our distinct competence and why craniosacral therapy facilitates recovery from trauma. It’s about what we do that other therapies do not.
Behind the Smile
DAY 1 - THE PHARANGEAL FOLDS
Day one explores the intricate bony structure of the face and the musculature of the face, the ear and the throat. During the embryonic period, these structures, together with their neural network, originate in the pharyngeal folds between the developing brain and heart. Practical sessions will concentrate of the bony viscero-cranium and the pathways of crucial Cranial Nerves.
DAY 2 - THE FACE, THE THROAT AND THE EXPRESSION OF EMOTION
Day two features The Polyvagal Theory of Stephen Porges, which clarifies the range of survival strategies open to us in dangerous and life-threatening situations. The theory identifies the Social Nervous System as a subdivision which is neither fully autonomic nor fully voluntary in its function. Practical approaches will concentrate on Cranial Nerves of the Social Nervous System, which control facial expression, vocalization and vocal tone, swallowing, breathing and head turning.
DAY 3 - THE HEART AND ADAPTABILITY UNDER STRESS
Day four focuses on vagal tone, heart rate variability, communication and pro-social behaviour. The following topics will be covered: the role of the vagal brake in homeostatic control of the ANS, the importance of good vagal tone for babies and infants, and vagal afferents – the link between sensory input from the gut and the heart and the expression of emotion. Practical biodynamic cranial strategies will be explored for enabling social engagement and healthy heart regulation.