What does a CranioSacral session look like for a child?

CranioSacral therapy with children looks nothing like working with adults or infants – children are simply constantly in motion. They do not sit still, and it is unreasonable to expect them to do so.  Therefore, we need to meet them where they are.

In the Upledger curriculum one must take three (3) levels of classes, and perform at least seventy-five treatment sessions between each level to become eligible to start training to work with the pediatric population. 

One of the reasons for this is to enable the practitioner to become highly skilled. We need to be able to evaluate, blend and meld, with a body that may be crawling across the floor or perhaps they may be in the yard arranging boats in the bird bath. 

With children, one rarely has the luxury of hands on the body allowing time to evaluate and listen – one must be proficient at quick evaluations and accurate hand placements. On an adult, my hand may be on an area of restriction for minutes, with children occasionally I can have my hand in one place for minutes but more often it is seconds. 

Children generally enter a session with an attitude of ‘let’s do this!” I am not saying that the adults I work with don’t want to feel and function better – they do, but there is a level of hesitation that children don’t usually have. It is not uncommon for a child to place my hand exactly where the work is needed.

Similar to when I work with infants, I rely on parents for feedback on changes they see.