ABOUT CRANIOSACRAL THERAPY

Despite many years working with Craniosacral Therapy it continues to enthral and surprise me. I constantly question what it is that I do and what it is that is happening as I work.

‘Life is not a riddle to be solved but a mystery to be lived.’ – Paul Koralek

Craniosacral Therapy As Enquiry

My practice is a work in progress as is my description of the work.

I can rationalise the concept of the neutral as can any therapist working with an awareness of the therapeutic relationship. I have always believed that in any therapeutic relationship the patient is more aware than the therapist, simply because they have more at stake.

In psychoanalysis it was long ago suggested that beneath the ordinary aspect of the relationship lies a direct communication between the unconscious of the patient and the unconscious of the therapist. (Laplanche & Pontalis 1988) In body therapy this unconscious dialogue may be even clearer, freed as it is from the fog of words and conducted as it is through the body, our primary means of communication before words.

When I bring my hands in relationship to my patient I have no doubt that they are reading my intentions and assessing whether or not I am fit to share their story. If my intention is to apply my techniques my patient will do his or her best to humour me.

If my intention is to relate to my patient at the level of their inherent health and intelligence an altogether different process takes place. Now my techniques are subtle invitations to talk. When the patient’s body accepts to tell its story all I need do is keep quiet, listen and follow the story as it unfolds.

Although I use the term ‘Craniosacral’ to describe my work I wonder if the master therapists to whom Ron Kurtz referred had not themselves intuited the same truth. To them, at the core of the patient there is no real problem. To me at the core of the patient there is inherent health.

References

This extract is from an article published in the Journal of Holistic Healthcare, Volume 4, Issue 4, November 2007.

It was written to accompany a talk given at the ‘Power of Touch’ conference organised by CONFER at the University of Westminster.

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