Wellness Center: Integrative Medicine: Craniosacral Therapy

Craniosacral Therapy

Craniosacral Therapy works by helping the body’s natural healing mechanisms dissipate the negative effects of stress on the central nervous system. Using a touch generally no heavier than the weight of a nickel, skilled practitioners can monitor and assist the natural hydraulic forces of the CranioSacral System and related soft tissues to help the body self-correct. If you are combining CST with other services, we recommend scheduling it after receiving other services. The exception – it is ideal to schedule psychotherapy after a CST session.

Experiences during a CST session are as individual as the clients and practitioners themselves They also may differ from session to session. At times, a client may deeply relax or even fall asleep. At other times, he or she may talk a great deal, recalling memories or expressing emotions. Some will remain still during the entire session, hardly noticing the practitioner’s evaluation and treatment, while others will experience sensations within the body at varying degrees of intensity the entire session. At various ties throughout the session, the practitioner may support a client’s limbs, spine or head, and work in the mouth with gloves while facilitating release of accumulated tension. This process is called energy cyst release or tissue release. During this release, the client might recall circumstances surrounding a past shock, trauma or injury. Releasing and re-experiencing past hurts assists the body in reversing dysfunction and restoring the previous level of mobility, and advanced CranioSacral therapists are trained to support you through this process, named SomatoEmotional Release. Just as individuals experience CST sessions differently, the immediate results can be diverse as well. This relaxed state may elicit the desire to sleep for many hours after a session. Others may experience an increase in energy or agitation as their nervous system reorganizes. Since CST helps the body resume its natural healing process, it is common for improvement to continue for days or weeks after the session. It is important to keep follow-up appointments suggested by your therapist, as you go through the reorganization process that CranioSacral Therapy often initiates.

Because it benefits the functioning of the Central Nervous System, Craniosacral Therapy can help a wide range of conditions. The largest groups of patients who receive CST are those suffering from chronic symptoms that haven’t responded to other approaches. It is particularly effective for those with head, neck or back injuries resulting from an accident, vertigo, loss of taste or smell and neuralgias, or those with stress-related symptoms including headaches, insomnia, depression, anxiety, fatigue, poor digestion or jaw pain (TMJ Dysfunction). It is an excellent way to boost the entire immune system and reboot creativity and mental flexibility.

Response to CST varies from individual to individual and condition to condition. Your response is uniquely your own and can’t be compared to anyone else’s – even those cases that seem similar to your own. The number of sessions needed varies widely – from just one up to three or more a week over the course of several weeks. A brief consultation will help determine if Craniosacral therapy will be helpful in assisting you toward you goal of improved health. We also recommend reading “CranioSacral Therapy: Touchstone for Natural Healing”, a short book written by John Upledger to help clients understand this work.

Erinn Fraser, Holistic Health Practitioner, NCTMB

Erin's specialty is helping you regain or maintain a sense of ease and connection with your body, releasing patterns that aren’t useful and letting your body find new ones that are. Her focus is particularly how your nervous system and fascia contribute to painful trigger points and dysfunction of muscles, tendons and nerves, and the impact of those on emotions, sleeping patterns and quality of life. Her specialties are Neuromuscular Therapy, Myofascial Release, CranioSacral Therapy, Sports Massage and energetic bodywork called Reiki, but she also has training in many other modalities, including massage for the cancer patient/survivor (see list below). She believes strongly in the synchronicity of working with other healthcare providers to maximize your well-being.

She is a licensed Holistic Health Practitioner and has practiced therapeutic massage full-time since graduating from The Ann Arbor Institute of Massage Therapy in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 2000. Upledger CranioSacral Therapy has been a significant part of her practice since 2001. She is co-owner of Body-Power Therapies, a NCBMTB-approved provider of continuing education for massage therapists, based in San Diego, California.

On a more personal note, Erinn is taking classes toward a business/pre-med degree, as well as continuing her Upledger education. She served for three years as a volunteer board member for the American Massage Therapy Association Michigan Chapter, as 3rd Vice President and then Treasurer. She is an avid Bikram yoga practitioner and native of Vermont.

 
Shopping Cart