Craniosacral therapy (CST) is a holistic manual therapy practice that uses a light touch to balance the craniosacral system in the body, including the bones, nerves, fluids, and connective tissues (such as fascia) of the skull and spinal area. It is a non-invasive, gentle and hands-on therapy that helps the body naturally self-repair. It’s an effective treatment for a wide range of illnesses and is suitable for people of all ages, including babies, children and the elderly.

Craniosacral therapy can be very helpful in our on the go culture. As busy humans, we often tend to ignore our big and small pains, and we tell ourselves that we will deal with it later. However when we do this, we don’t realize that our bodies start to adjust themselves. These compensations make up for the poorly performing area. This happens because our network of connective tissue in our bodies senses these injuries and pains and changes itself; our body will always take the past of least resistance. Over time adjustments and restrictions occur as a result of pain and/or injury without us even consciously realizing what the body has done. The result is a ripple effect within the body that causes another area, sometimes in another area of the body, to develop pain. For example, an old sprained wrist could be causing your neck pain because of the tissue build up and the adjustment you made in your everyday life to compensate.

SomatoEmotional Release is conceptualized as the release of emotion from the body tissues.  Dr. Upledger and many other researchers found that our fascia seems to hold memories, separate from memories stored in our hippocampus or other brain structures.  Dr. Bessel Van der Kolk refers to this in his book, The Body Keeps the Score.  At times, as tissue restrictions are addressed, an emotion associated with that area of restriction arises.  At other times, an area of restriction will not thoroughly release until the associated emotions are allowed to move through.  This can be done with appropriate counseling or talk therapy, or may occasionally arise during a bodywork session.  Our therapists are trained to support a client if this becomes part of the work we are doing together, and to make appropriate referrals for counseling as needed.  While Physical Therapy is a holistic modality that includes mental health, and we take several psychology classes as part of our training, we are not counselors and do not provide counseling sessions to our clients.  In SomatoEmotional release work, the focus is on achieving release of tissue restrictions and working to support your ability as a client to achieve your own goals.   Elisabeth McLatchie has advanced training in SER

Here at Sitka Physio & Wellness, we tailor each and every one of our treatment plans to you and your needs. By coming to our multidisciplinary clinic and trusting us, we will build a program for you that ties in other physio services like manual therapy, acupuncture and ISM, if needed, to identify the root of your pain better and treat it accordingly.