The word intention acquires a significance in cranial work, as different attitudes prevail towards the intention of the cranial therapist when treating. Some approaches exalt it, while others decry it. Is there a middle ground between these extremes and what is the role of intention?
There are several permutations of intentionality, listed here in a spectrum of importance. The issue to bear in mind with each variation listed below, is to consider to what extent knowledge and skill is at the disposal of the therapist via their training.
“Intention alone is enough”
This is a catch cry to perhaps summarise what is confusingly taught in some versions of cranial therapy. Cranial is a subtle physical method, not an energetic approach. It is misleading to think that thought alone will provide specific physical changes and effective therapy. If this were true, then the hands of the therapist need never touch to actively engage and intervene with the restricted parts of the client’s body at all. These approaches are not cranial therapy.
The idea of me wishing that your own sphenoid bone, (with all of its bony and soft-tissue attachments, and all the structural and functional consequences that flow from normalising its mobility), is actually free and unrestricted, and that the healing process will occur through my intention alone, without using technique, is fantasy.
What is meant to be conveyed perhaps, is that Craniosacral techniques are subtle and of ‘homoeopathic’ proportion. Therapist forces during an Ethmoid release are light to the point of barely registering. Subtle variations to the balance of challenge and/or support techniques employed can uncover and unlock restrictions, with sometimes the tiniest alteration in technique directly triggering an obvious change.
The fingers do not visibly move, the therapist is concentrating, engaged with the moment, the subtle change to the therapist’s input is barely perceptible, and yet a big tissue release may occur. It seems almost magical. See Indirect Technique and Equal Resistance for more information.
Interestingly, at that precise moment in providing therapy, the therapist’s intention can indeed come to the fore and be keenly experienced, as one of several mental factors all in play. Perhaps this pivotal moment underpins and explains the different philosophies regarding intention.
Having intention should never silence the natural, physical, kinetic dialogue existing between client and therapist.
Using a technique (or at a minimum, physically engaging with the body of a client) starts with the therapist, irrespective of their consciousness, but intention alone does not create technique on its own.
“Use directed intention and passive listening together in harmony”
Craniofascial
The therapist can use CFT to deeply engage with the client through palpation listening. This evolving, dynamic assessment can be used to modify the application of technique continuously, like a dance.
There is also a background, undirected level of engagement with the client. This particular interaction is semi-constant and foundational, returned to when the therapist is not consciously applying a given direct or indirect technique.
This school promotes the use of intention, palpation and listening to encourage self-correction where possible.
Acute problems in younger persons respond the best. Paediatric cranial osteopathy uses this logic wisely as many problems will resolve through a combination of unforced engagement and also subtle cranial technique with young bodies.
When self-correction at varying levels of intensity and depth concludes or does not occur, a variety of options are still available to the therapist.
“Therapist intention interferes with client self-healing”
Biodynamic Craniosacral
This modality gives the least emphasis on intention. “The big difference of Biodynamic CST to other mechanical forms of physical therapies (including the more mechanical forms of Craniosacral therapy) is that the practitioner does not actively engage in trying to change the physical state they are aware of.”
It is certainly true that cranial ‘presence’ and unforced engagement are valuable and that insensitive technique such as fixed treatment protocols can stifle self-correction.
An extra dimension, using conscious intention with knowledge, sensitivity and experience, is available for use which can move beyond the sometimes narrow, patient confines of self-correction. If the therapist has a useful broad template or ‘map’ it should be used where appropriate. If symptoms are absent and the clinical issue is mainly wellbeing, this analysis is less relevant.
Self-correction may occur to varying extents with clients, but there are definite limits to this. In many cases only a different, more investigative method will reveal restictions. Being aware of a problem and observing it NOT change over time, and not intervening with a different method, perhaps involving intention, seems to be a therapist-centred, not a client-centred philosophy.
If clients see therapists because they have problems they want resolved, they care more about results, less about the minutia of treatment technique used in their healing.
By way of analogy, a cousellor may mainly listen deeply with presence, but also may use words with great effect, (including physical, neuro-musculo-skeletal changes).
“There is no intention”
Reiki
This popular healing approach is used by a multitude of amateurs and para-professionals. While few practitioners qualified in health science use it overtly, there are similarities worth exploring. Although numerous splinter groups each claim legitimacy, all of them teach static hand placements on the client’s body, including the head.
Light touch is characteristic and an unconscious ‘melding’ of the Reiki practitioner’s hands with the clients tissue tension patterns often occurs. Client responses to reiki can be impressive and mimic those of fascial release, such as autonomic nervous system reactions. See Twitches occur using Equal Resistance in cranial therapy
Massage
Compared to its role in cranial therapy and indirect fascial technique, subtle therapist intention dynamics play little role in massage therapy. It is a characteristic of cranial therapy for the therapist to be ‘quiet’, more facilitating, less directing, compared to giving a massage. This provides an ‘extra gear’ for massage therapists to add to their repertoire.
Being heavy-handed or insensitive is counter-productive when using Craniofascial with massage. It is quite feasible to combine techniques with different levels of pressure, engagement and intention if each phase of therapy is properly integrated. Client tissue feedback and therapist experience help to manage a situation where unpredictable outcomes are possible.