Course Description:

3-Day In-Person Professional Training
This pediatric clinical application course demonstrates evidence of the blended use of craniosacral therapy, myofascial mobilization, visceral maneuvers, lymphatic evacuation, and other interstitial tissue release methods. Based upon observations of 25,000+ patient encounters, practice-based evidence is presented with supporting evidence-informed practice. The training focuses on the specific type of touch that makes gentle, non-invasive manual therapy methods most effective for infants and young children.
Course content is based upon two books authored by the presenter, Susan Vaughan Kratz:
- Bodywork for Babies
- Bodywork for Sensory Integration: Harmonizing Structural Challenges to Sensory Wellness
Sensory integration (or processing) difficulties of childhood traditionally were looked to as a central programming issue. Clinical practice, however, has challenged this theoretical assumption with osteopathic-based interventions. The evolving science of fascia will be blended with the original therapy of sensory integration processing. Structural compromises to cranial nerve pathways, spinal tracts, autonomic-regulating tissues of blood vessels and organ walls, and the cutaneous autonomic nervous system are just a few examples of osteopathic-based discoveries through these manual therapies. Practice-based evidence will show positive changes in common neurobehavioral, motor skills and coordination, posture alignment, and other common problems that pediatric therapists routinely address. Many children in pediatric therapies have challenges with the resiliency of the structures and tissues of the autonomic nervous system. The science of fascia has yielded unique ways to approach the immature nervous systems of children and infants to facilitate self-correction of tone and nervous system states.
In addition, these same methods have been used in infant health and wellness interventions and have proven helpful in resolving colic, reflux, constipation, irritability, breastfeeding struggles, torticollis, plagiocephaly, and management of tongue ties. Normalizing increased tension and tone is a common pediatric goal. However, it is a novel idea to directly treat the fascia-suspending structures that can quickly facilitate a global or focal parasympathetic response with minimal invasiveness from the therapist. In addition, responses of immature fascia and myofascial structures also require this type of touch to achieve quick treatment responses, minimizing duration of intervention.
The course focuses on the specific type of touch that unifies these various methods. The novelty of this course is learning how to discern treating the autonomic nervous system tissues directly to evoke a parasympathetic state and not create increased sympathetic tension through too-invasive or too-quick handling. Each participant is guaranteed to receive focused attention to ensure the depth of learning and mentoring to master this "touch of specificity." Labs are then practice opportunities to sequence the anatomical regions to influence a quick, self-correcting response of tissue, blood vessel mass, organ walls, fascia layers, and musculoskeletal structures.