Cranial Sacral

My 3 kids and I have all had cranio-sacral massage therapy for various reasons. My daughter and I respond amazingly well to it; my 2 sons don't seem particularly affected. The boys like the massage, but it doesn't make a big impact on their behavior. My daughter had a series of 6 cranio-sacral massages at age 5 1/2. She had sensory integration issues, insomnia and anxiety. After the first massage, she slept all night and woke up happy for the first time in her life! After the series of 6 massages, her sensory issues were decreased by about 80%. Since then, she has gotten about 3 massages during the school year to help manage stress. My middle child had cranio-sacral massage at about age 2 1/2 hoping to reduce his head-banging and calm his budding ADHD. He liked it, but it didn't do much for him. My 3rd child got cranio-sacral at just 4 days old - I was not prepared to deal with another high-maintenance baby who didn't sleep if there was anything I could do about it! The baby nursed and slept through the massage. Yes, this one was more for me than for him, but I'm glad I did it just in case. I finally got my first cranio-sacral massage about a month ago, and I'm kicking myself for waiting so long. It works so dramatically well for me to keep my stress level down. My life is still nuts, but I don't feel overwhelmed by it. Instead, I can actually enjoy my kids and the craziness of our life far more.

A good therapist should tell you after the first massage if they think this is really good for your child, or if maybe a different type of therapy would be more effective. If your child responds well to this type of massage, you should see some positive change after the first time. If you don't, maybe you should keep exploring other options.

We use Ken Piercy (www.kenpiercy.com) for cranio-sacral now. He's independent, so quicker to get an appointment and less expensive. We used Suzanne Aderholt at Integrative Pediatric Therapy in the past. (www.integrativepediatric.com) Both are excellent. Niether takes insurance. IPT will give you a receipt with diagnosis and procedure codes that you can submit to your insurance and see what happens. At the very least, both would be approved by your Flex Spending Account as medical expenses if you have access to that.

You really want someone who specializes in Cranio sacral, has a lot of training, and a lot of experience with children. This is just as much art as science, so it's hard to do well if you just do it on the side.

Good luck,
S.
SAHM of 3

Cranial sacral therapy is an excellent modality for all children. I have done it with all my children and have seen incredible results. My favorite practitioner in the area may no longer be practicing. His name is Dr. Jerry Dickey and he was the head of the Manipulative Medicine Dept. at the Osteopathic Medical School in downtown Ft. Worth (855 N. Montgomery). If Dr. Dickey is not available, his students are also very excellent. My insurance was accepted there and there were no problems with it paying.

Best wishes,

D.

Hi,
We have been doing cranio for 7 years. I LOVE it and have seen great things because of it. I have a son with autism and he loves it too. You want to have a person who is HIGHLY certified. Upledger Institute has a list in all areas of therapists and their qualifications. I know most of the highest certified in this area well. I love them all. I am in a hurry right now but you can google them or email me later and I can get you numbers. Ken Piercy is AWESOME and he has a website. Doris Weiner is AMAZING! She also has a website and Suzanne at Integrative Pediatric Therapy is great too. ALl of them are the highest cert. you can get. They all are loving and caring wonderful people. There are many people out there jumping on this band wagon, so you have to be careful. If you can't find them online, email me and I will give you all the info on all of them.
Thanks, LC

We have a little exposure to it in P.T. school, not sure if I believe in it. Truth is, no practitioner would do it unless they believed in it, so that is a plus. What is the ailment being treated? I have seen it used for torticollis.