May 06 – 2007

Questions and comments for this issue:

+ How to convince Doctors of the validity of cranio sacral therapy?
+ Migraine question.
+ Do you have to get ‘hands on’ when treating post vasectomy pain?

Hello,
I’m just back from a trip to Brisbane where I
was delivering my ‘Core Success’ seminar.
How did it go?
Very well, thank you for asking.

It was great meeting old friends and some new
ones too.  Some of the very first students I taught
in Australia were there, though they are seasoned
therapists now, and some therapists I hadn’t met
before, some of whom flew up from Sydney especially
for the event.

Jenny Palmer, who organised the seminar, is
going to write something about it so I will pass it
on when she does.

Lastly I want to point you to this wonderful picture I came across in the National Geographic. The man lying in the hospital bed is only days after open-heart surgery. He is having cranio sacral therapy.  I like the picture because it is confirmation of where cranio sacral therapy is heading.  But I’m getting ahead of myself,  as you will see when we get into the first letter in the mailbag.

***QUESTION***

Dear John,
I recently had a patient who told their Doctor they
were having craniosacral therapy.  The Doctor
dismissed it out of hand saying there was no
scientific basis for it and discouraged her from
‘wasting her money’.
My patient told me she wasn’t keen to continue
treatment.
I intend to visit the Doctor in question and see if
I can’t change his mind.
I know Dr John Upledger has done some scientific
studies on CST, I am just wondering if you know of
any other studies or can suggest some good
arguments for the validity of CST.
Thank you for your newsletters.

C.S.
Sydney.

MY COMMENTS:

I was only talking about this at the seminar in
Brisbane the other day.  The simplest way to
explain it is to ask you to look towards the
future.  About one or two hundred years in the
future.

Medicine will look very different.  The
exclusively mechanical model that is currently in
vouge will have expanded to include an appreciation
for the body’s ability to fix itself.  Cranio
sacral therapy, or whatever it is called then, will
feature largely.

Every ambulance and para-medical team will
include a cranio sacral therapist.  Emergency rooms
will include cranio sacral therapists as standard
members of staff.  Maternity wards, and in
particular, delivery rooms will all have cranio
sacral therapists.  Every child born will receive
cranio sacral treatment within the first hours of
life.
Rehabilitation facilities will be dealt with
predominantly by cranio sacral therapists.  The
treatment of chronic pain and illness will rely
heavily on cranio sacral therapy to provide lasting
solutions.
Inmate rehabilitation programs in prisons will
include cranio sacral therapy.  Children with
learning difficulties will receive cranio sacral
treatment as part of their special care.  The main
treatment for autism will be cranio sacral therapy.

On a hill there will be a golden castle where I
will ride out on my favourite unicorn, Tabatha.
No, hang on.
That last bit was a dream.

Now let’s come back to the present.  At the
moment, we are ahead of our time.  We are the front
runners, the pioneers.

The thing about being a pioneer is that it is
difficult.  Just ask anyone from the turn of the
century who was saying that one day humans would
walk on the moon. Or someone from the middle ages
who was saying that one day people would travel by
air.
Think about all the things that we take for
granted now, like radio and TV and the internet.
At one time they all seemed far fetched ideas.  Now
they are commonplace.

The flaws in the current medical model are
becoming more and more apparent to the general
public.  When you think about the future it doesn’t
make sense to seek the approval or ally yourself
with a model that is failing. This is one of the
reasons that I have never tried to convince a
Doctor of the validity of Cranio Sacral Therapy.

Another reason is that the methods of evaluation
and the science are not sophisticated enough yet to
measure what we do.  When they are sophisticated
enough than there will be more of a bridge for us
to talk.

Another reason is that we have not got our act
together enough as cranio sacral therapists.  There
is way too much infighting and ‘my-way-is the-
right-way’ sort of thing going on.  Too many 4-day
courses after which you can call yourself a cranio
sacral therapist.  Too much cranio sacral therapy
as an adjunct to other approaches.  We can’t even
stick to one name for crying out loud.
By the way I am renaming what I do, cranio-
vision-quest-bio-morphic-angelic-sacral-therapy-
approach.

Catchy, no?

Moving on.

It is like the underlying fear and insecurity
that often drives therapists to associations.  The
thinking being that if we all band together we will
be taken more seriously.

Which leads me to ask, by whom?
Doctors?  I don’t think so.
The public?  I doubt it.
In my experience the public will go with a
referral from someone they trust over any number of
qualifications and association memberships.

So I would discourage you from confronting the
Doctor.  Instead I encourage you to trust in the
part of your patient that brought her to see you.
It will do the right thing for her.

Also trust in the Doctor to acknowledge your
successes.

Your work hinges on your trust in the human
body’s ability to correct itself.  I am encouraging
you to trust in the body of humanity to correct
itself too.  It really is no different.

***QUESTION***

Hi John,

As always, these newsletters give me great insight,
so thank you for supplying us with it!

I just thought I’d give you some feedback about the
chronic fatigue client I posed a question about in
an earlier newsletter.

I treated the person before the newsletter reached
me, so didn’t have the added help from your
insights. I had been treating this woman for other
things for a while, when the time came to deal with
the chronic fatigue directly. In the space of only
3 weeks the whole issue seems to have been
resolved.

It started off with really good communication with
the hypothalamus, pituitary and membranes where
they were able to correct themselves and stay good.
Next week several past life traumas and associated
local restrictions needed to be released after
which chakras 1 and 2 were able to start releasing
their restrictions. The biggest problem was in the
2nd chakra where lots of damage had been done when
the client as a newborn was given drugs to
counteract kidney failure.

Those drugs caused damage to the nervous system,
which lasted for quite a few years. The result was
a very big block in the energy flow in the area.
I’m sure there were other contributing causes for
the chronic fatigue starting up 7 years ago, but it
wasn’t necessary to go into them. After one and a
half sessions over 3 days with work only with the
2nd chakra there was a definite endpoint, where her
whole body came to peace and I got a very strong
communication that that was the end of it.

She didn’t jump up and down like a two-year-old
right away, but has continued to get stronger and
more energetic every week since. She hasn’t had any
relapses since those treatments in November.

Question.
A friend of mine suffers really bad migraine and
I’m about to start looking for the reason. I don’t
know if it is always the same thing that is wrong
or if the causes are many and varied. I happened to
be there when my friend got really bad with the
migraine, so I tried to help. Someone else who was
there said migraine comes from the stomach
meridians being blocked and building up too much
pressure, giving pain behind the eyes (linking in
with the light fenomena sufferers experience) and
vomiting.
But when I sat with my sick friend and started to
tune in I got the feeling that that is only the
symptom, that the cause lies elsewhere, and her
pineal gland was very persistently engaging with me
and giving me the idea that the cause may have to
do with the pressure of fluid inside the head.

What is your experience in finding and treating the
cause of it?

Eva Kuhl Bornefelt
Central Coast
Australia

MY COMMENTS:

Thanks for the feedback Eva.  I am glad your
chronic fatigue patient made such a good recovery.

The first thing that stood out to me about your
migraine question is when you said, ‘I’m about to
start looking for the reason.’  I encourage you to
change this approach.  I have found it much more
effective to let the reason find you.

Instead of actively looking for the reason,
which is a very active dynamic, I encourage you to
trust the persons system and be available for the
reason to reveal itself to you.

On the nuts and bolts department the pain behind
the eyes can often indicate tentorial tension.
This happens because of the recurrent, meningeal
branch of the mandibular branch of the trigeminal
nerve.  It can be referred pain from the tentorium.

If you were being drawn to the pineal gland then
I would go with that.  Because you also mentioned a
feeling of pressure I would check the integrity of
the aqueduct of Sylvius.  If it is restricted it
can cause back-pressure problems.  You can read
about a woman I treated with this very problem

http://www.open-source-cranio.com/cases/intracranialtension.html

***QUESTION***

Hello John,
A guy is coming to see me next week to see if I can
help him with his vasectomy pain. Have you had any
experience with this? And if so do you have to
treat it ‘hands on’ so to speak.  I’m not
homophobic or anything but I’m really hoping that
you don’t have to.

Thanks.

B.A.
Perth.

MY COMMENTS:

A hundred cheap jokes swirl around my mind but I
am a bigger man than that and much as I might like
to, I will resist.

Fear not.  You can have excellent success
without having to get hands on.  A lot of the
problems with vasectomy pain come from trauma
inflicted during the surgery where the surgeon tugs
over zealously on the vas deferens to get it clear
of the scrotum so they can get on with the
procedure.

When you look at the anatomy of the vas deferens
you will see that it travels from the testes
superiorly into the lower abdomen where it makes a
hairpin bend in the inguinal area before
descending to the prostate.

I have found that the trauma gets stuck in this
bend.  Working in the area of this bend is roughly
where you would have your hands when working on the
pelvic diaphragm.  You can help whatever
restriction is present to release with this
contact.  You can also help any restrictions
further down or in the testes themselves from this
contact using your . . . intention.

So breathe a sigh of relief and be glad you
learned about intention.

So that’s it for this issue.

Cheerio for now.

Till the next time.

Your Mate,

John D.

+ How to handle the, “What did you do to me?” question. – September 05

+ Comment from Mij Ferrett, craniosacral therapist
and editor of ‘The Fulcrum’, journal of The
Craniosacral Therapy Association of the UK. – September 05

Dear John,

I have been practicing for two years and am
enjoying the work immensely. By an large my
practice is going well.

Every now and then a particular kind of patient
will come back for their second visit and accuse
me of doing something to them.

Sometimes it is subtle, sometimes not so subtle.

They will say things like, ‘My neck was fine
before I came to see you for back pain.

Now it is really painful.’

I find it very hard to know what to say to them.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

NC

Eire(Ireland) but you knew that anyway.

>>>MY COMMENTS:

Yeah, I may live in Oz but I still know where
Ireland is.

Your question highlights one of the most
difficult aspects of natural medicine.

That people have been conditioned to be
irresponsible about their health.

‘Fix me Doc.’

When someone asks you ‘What have you done to me?’
they are relating to you like a doctor.
I don’t know whether you have thought about
this or not but, like it or not, you are a pioneer.

You are at the cutting edge of a fringe.

So one of your tasks must be education.

If you are able to tell you are dealing with
‘that kind of patient’, then you would be wise
to take some pre-emptive measures to avoid them
asking you the question in ADVANCE.

The best way to solve a problem being to
never have it in the first place.

Don’t know where I heard that but I love using it.

When you identify the person as being irresponsible
at the first session, you need to start explaining
to them right away how it all works. Focusing
particularly on how you are supporting their
body to fix itself.

That you are not trying to direct how that
process will go, because you know from experience
that peoples bodies know best how to fix themselves.

How sometimes things can get worse before they get
better.

Help them to discover how remarkable their body is.

Worst comes to worst and they come back the following
week and ask you what you did to them?

You can reframe it for them by reminding them
what you actually did. You laid you hands gently on
different parts of their body for varying amounts
of time.

You didn’t click them or manipulate them or adjust
them. In light of all that isn’t it an indication
of how powerful this way of working is, that it can
reach such depths in the persons body with such a
light touch. And how their body can respond in such
powerful ways to this kind of support.

Lastly, if you are getting that kind of feedback
a lot, you might need to look at yourself. Your
intention may be too strong. You may be trying
too hard. You may be too attached to what you
think is the right outcome.

Generally speaking any repeating pattern in your
Patient’s is worth looking at in this way.

‘Is this me?’

‘Is this my issues/patterns playing out?’

***COMMENT FROM MIJ FERRETT***

Hi John,

I love your answers and have enjoyed reading them and,
for the most part, agree with them.  There is one minor
point though … when you say ‘Lastly, if you are
getting that kind of feedback  ['My neck was fine
before I came to see you for back pain. Now it is
really painful.'] a lot, you might need to look at
yourself.  Your intention may be too strong.  You may be
trying too hard.  You may be too attached to what you
think is the right outcome.’

I think what you said is relevant and true but there is
more to say. If you get this kind of comment often then
it is almost certain that there is something that needs
looking at but whether or not you get this kind of
feedback it is inevitable that from time to time all of
us will get drawn into being over-focused and doing too
much and that as a result we will tend to initiate some
kind of protective reaction from the client in response
to our inappropriate interaction. There is a natural
tendency for therapists to deny this so the process of
denial needs attention paying to it as well. In
situations like this it’s useful to spend a little time
reflecting on what has happened and notice any pull
towards being defensive. One of the most beneficial
ways of progressing therapeutically with someone is
admitting when we make a mistake and apologising for
it.
Interestingly this principle has paid dividends in, of
all places, american hospitals*. Any authentic
acknowledgement and apology will tend to help the
therapeutic relationship.

Of course there is the classic healing crisis response
as well and the classic response of the client not
taking responsibility for their own process but that
this can be used as a cover up for therapeutic error.

More power to your keyboard.

Mij

*Due to the litigious nature of the culture and the
large sums of money awarded by damages suits many
hospitals and doctors have tended to cover up and deny
mistakes.  However a pilot scheme in Lexington VA
Kentucky introduced after some multimillion dollar
lawsuits, encourages doctors to acknowledge their
mistakes and apologise for them. When patients have
doctors apologise to them and offer fair compensation
feelings are much improved and court awards are much
lower; there has also been a reduction in unjustified
malpractice suits. Subsequently many other US hospitals
have introduced the policy with similar results and
medical students are now being encouraged by Harvard
Medical School to do the same when qualified.

>>>MY COMMENTS:

I agree with everything up to the part about
apologising to the patient when we make a mistake.
For some reason this set my alarm bells off.

‘Apologise to a patient? Really?’

It troubled me.

I wrestled with it.

I pondered, even.

And then it hit me . . . a few times.

Not all apologies are therapeutically beneficial for
both parties.

When I get on an aeroplane I’m not really thinking
about the pilot. I’m thinking of where I want to go.
My destination.

If I did think about the pilot I would have to
acknowledge that he will probably make AT LEAST one
mistake on the flight.  I know it but I don’t really
want to think about it.

If we are flying along at 60,000 feet and the plane
lurches suddenly but then rights itself, I want to
think that we probably hit an unexpected pocket of
turbulence.  The ‘fasten you seatbelts’ sign didn’t
come on so everything is probably ok.

The last thing I want to hear is the pilot coming
over the intercom saying,

‘Hi Everyone, this is the captain speaking.
Look, the head cabin attendant Nancy, was just
giving me my dinner and when I reached for the tray
I accidentally hit the throttle with my knee.
That’s why the plane lurched a minute ago.  So I
just wanted to let you know and I wanted to
apologise to you all.’

The captain would probably turn off the intercom,
look at his co-pilot and say, ‘Man, that felt good.
Therapeutic almost.’

Back in my seat, I would probably have a glazed sort
of look in my eye.  My knuckles would definitely be
whiter and while rationally I might appreciate the
pilot’s honesty, most of me would be wanting to get off
at the next stop. Which stop? Who cares?

JUST GET ME OFF THIS PLANE!!!

I would still want to reach my destination, just not
with that pilot.  He is probably perfectly competent to
get me there but he just made the process of getting
there too scary for me.

Also . .

The sort of ‘mistakes’ we make are a lot more
complicated and difficult to explain than Doctor’s
mistakes.

‘I’m sorry I left my wristwatch inside you, when I
sewed you up Mr Smith.’ would be understood by most
patients.  They wouldn’t be too pleased about it, maybe
they wouldn’t sue the doctor for so much but they would
understand the error.

Whereas if we say something like. . .
‘I’m sorry you had that reaction last week. It was
my fault because I wanted you to get better too much.’

Most patients could understandably reply, ‘That’s
what I’m paying you for.  You’re supposed to want me to
get better, ya big freak!’

Equally . .

There is the possibility that we could end up
apologising for responses that are not actually
mistakes but are part of the therapeutic process.

Saying. . ‘I want to apologise for your neck hurting
this week. It was because my intention was too much
last week.’

Is apologising for what is actually part of the
process of finding the best level to work at for that
person’s system.  There is no way of knowing it in
advance.  You can only find the right level to work at
by going as lightly as possible, while remaining
physically in the room, the first time you treat the
person and then going deeper with each subsequent
treatment.

Assuredly . .

I’m all for apologising to patients if you’re
running late or you haven’t got the right change or you
fall asleep on their stomach!
No kidding, it hasn’t happened to me personally but did
happen REPEATEDLY to one of my students.

Eeeeewwwwww!

Finally . .

Be ruthlessly honest with yourself and appropriately
honest with your patients.