CranioSacral Therapy: Somatic Healing for Trauma Relief

What is CranioSacral Therapy?

The Upledger Institute© was founded in 1985 by osteopathic physician and surgeon John E. Upledger who wanted to create “a place where healthcare practitioners would be able to work with the body’s own principles to help patients achieve their greatest levels of wellness.” The cranial rhythm was discovered during an operation when John Upledger recognized an unfamiliar rhythm, much like a pulse or breathing rhythm. He discovered that the body produced spinal fluid in spaces in the brain called ventricles. These ventricles fill with spinal fluid, stop, and drain creating what Upledger called the CranioSacral rhythm. Upledger built upon this rhythm to form a healing therapy using holding points on the body to relieve “restrictions in the CranioSacral system to improve the functioning of the central nervous system.” CranioSacral Therapy is a full body, light-touch therapy for all ages from newborn to the elderly. It is performed through clothing using specific holding points. As tension is loosened, bone structures may move back into place, emotions and toxins may release, and the body heals.

Because the body stores every experience in its tissues, known as cell memory, when the tension is relieved the memory is released. These memories can even be passed on in our DNA through the generations like hair color or personality traits. We also store emotions, part of our background, in our cells. Emotional releases occur in many forms – crying, laughing, dreams, acting out, and so forth. When a person goes through a traumatic incident such as abuse, death, divorce, a serious accident or injury, the physical body is affected and remembers. Even chronic stress can deplete the body. Cranials may release the emotions and trauma held in the body. It does not cure anything, but it does provide a process where, over time, people can heal their own lives. By processing and releasing suppressed memories in a safe, nurturing environment, we are able to move forward productively a little at a time.

Who Benefits from CranioSacral Therapy?

Cranials begin a journey of healing which is unique for each individual due to their own set of stressors and life experiences. Cranials can heal on physical and emotional levels to relieve migraines, back and neck problems, stress, after effects of abuse or trauma, PTSD, ADHD, and much more.

Life presents encounters harmful to our physical and emotional selves. As children mature, the effects of trauma take a toll upon every aspect of life. Children form new belief systems, which affect future choices and life experiences. I have used this incredible tool as a Licensed Massage Therapist and have seen miraculous healing occur in the lives of others through this tool.

Releasing Emotional Trauma via CranioSacral Therapy

Studies suggest that one in three girls and one in five boys under age eighteen are victims of sexual abuse (2007 stats). Many people witness violence and endure physical and emotional abuse. The media and newscasts bombard us with violence. It does affect us all, but especially the children. Kathleen Kendall-Tackett stated in 1999:

“Repeated trauma in childhood forms and deforms the personality. The child trapped in an abusive environment is faced with the formidable task of adaptation. She must find a way to preserve a sense of trust in people who are untrustworthy, safety in a situation that is unsafe, control in a situation that is terrifyingly unpredictable, power in a situation of helplessness. Unable to care for or protect herself, she must compensate for the failures of adult care and protection with the only means at her disposal, an immature system of psychological defenses.”

Watch Out for Signs or Symptoms of Abuse

First acknowledging the trauma occurred is an important part of healing. Being aware of early warning signs may prevent further abuse from happening, and can be a catalyst to getting a child necessary helps early. Below is a list of abuse symptoms provided by Dr. Sue M. Gentry, a child psychologist.

“Victims of abuse often show a sudden increase in:


  • Sadness, depression, listlessness, loss of interest in previously pleasurable activities (e.g. a young child may show a notable decrease in exuberant, spontaneous play)

  • Irritability, mood swings, temper tantrums

  • Anxiety, avoidance, fearfulness and clinginess, nightmares, sleep disturbances

  • Reluctance to go or be with certain people, rejection of physical affection

  • Appetite disturbance, wetting or soiling of underwear, physical complaints (e.g., aches and pains)

  • Poor school performance, poor concentration

  • Preoccupation with one’s own or other’s private parts”

Adults can also manifest these signs of abuse when beginning to remember, or due to recent incidents. Long-term effects of abuse can be detrimental. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression; behavioural and learning difficulties, emotional disturbances, digestive problems, and many other issues damage the lives of abuse victims. Kathleen A. Kendall-Tackett states,

“In the aftermath of traumatic events the brain becomes threat-sensitized.

The body ‘remembers’ the traumatic event and over-reacts when faced

with a new stressor.”

Early childhood trauma alters the brain because the brain is forming during childhood. Events occurring at one age will manifest a variety of symptoms during each stage of development because the brain has re-patterned as it has developed, moving the trauma event to numerous areas of the brain. James L. Oschman, PhD and Nora H. Oschman stated the following in their article, Somatic Recall,

“. . . our individual memories shape our sense of who we are as well as what we do and how we do it . . . Our personal identity, our comprehension of the world around us, our place in that world, what we can and cannot accomplish, our every act and decision – all are referenced to what we have learned and remembered. If these references are too traumatic past experiences, and to the resulting pains, fears [etc.] . . . our physical and behavioural flexibility are limited. Freedom of movement and thought, and awareness of what is happening inside and outside of us are compromised. To the extent that our mental lives influence our physical bodies, and vice versa, any therapeutic practice that has an effect on memory can have a profound . . . multidimensional influence on every attribute of the organism.”

Trauma May Manifest through Physical Problems

Survivors of sexual abuse may suffer from visceral (internal organ) and pelvic misalignments, which can cause health problems and poor body functioning. Cranials may realign bones and organs, and improve health on both physical and emotional levels. Cranials release emotional toxins from the tissues allowing memory release and processing. This catharsis may bring on nightmares, body memories, pain, emotional releases, and other manifestations normal to the healing process. Though childhood memories of trauma emerge eventually in these same ways, CranioSacral Therapy encourages the body to heal sooner and does so in an individual manner as the person is ready. Each individual’s journey will be unique. Nevertheless, the sooner the process toward recovery begins, the less damage the trauma or injury will have upon the processes of the individual’s life.

If you have experienced childhood trauma or abuse and are searching for new ways to heal or wish to heal at a DNA level, please reach out to BECOMING EXCEPTIONAL HEALING CENTER & RESOURCES today.